The Great Pancake Tour Of America
by awelsh
Summary: Stiles Stilinski has organised what is sure to be the trip of a lifetime for the peculiar group of somewhat friends and sometime enemies. A lucky coincidence of numbers forces Derek and Stiles into an impromptu and wary couple of their own, but how will it play out as their road trip continues?
1. It Begins

**Authors Note:**

**The usual disclaimers apply, I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters from the show. I also apologize in advance if any of my descriptions of the many (_many, many, many!_) places that are described in any chapters are somewhat inaccurate, my knowledge of most of them is hardly stellar but hopefully sufficiently accurate and believable. Rated M for heavy male/male sex once we get going, so turn back now if you shy away from that kind of thing!**

* * *

"Hurry up Scott!" Stiles cried, his body at an odd angle as he leaned out of the window. Four hands flew up to cover their owners sensitive morning ears as Lydia and Allison gave Stiles their best death-glares, huddled in the back of the van looking like they had just rolled out of bed with their bleary eyes and puffy faces – unsurprising seen as they basically just had.

"I'm coming!" The grin plastered across Scott's face as he glanced over at the van - giving his mother a quick hug before jogging over to join them - did little to raise the mood of the two girls, who were tired, cold, and wished they were back in bed.

"Now!" The growl that left Derek's snarling lips made Mrs. McCall jump a little, her own tired frame hurrying back inside as Derek leaned out of the window so his angry stare would be better received.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Scott held up his hands as he clambered over Allison (another evil-glare crossing over her face as he did) to join her on the second row of the van. "How great is this gonna be?!" Scott's grin was even making his girlfriend a little annoyed. She turned her head away from him, clamping her eyelids together in defiance.

"Dude, thank god someone's excited." Stiles said with a cheerful grin, turning to face his best friend.

"Will you two shut up?" Jackson said through gritted teeth from the back, throwing a baseball from one hand to the other, idly wondering if vans came in super-car form.

"Shut up Jackson. You're lacrosse skills mean nothing in the van. The van has no bias, it is completely above your popularity and only responds to happiness." Stiles told him, chin in the air, a satisfied smile on his face. Jackson just looked back at him with narrowed eyes, thinking how weird the kid was.

"Cut it out, Stiles." The growl from the back of the van, where Derek was packing away Scott's bags with enough force to move the van itself – Scott had just dumped them on the floor for someone else to deal with – made Stiles jump slightly.

"Okay boss. The driver gets special perks I suppose, so if you want me to stop giving Jackson the true meaning of the van then I will. For now." Stiles gave him an encouraging pat on the arm as he slipped into the drivers seat next to him. "Wait!" Stiles pulled Derek's hand from the wheel, feeling the fingers tense as he, hoping and praying to any and all gods that they wouldn't clasp around his own and break all the tiny little bones into thousands of fragmented pieces.

"What?" The words long and drawn out, tired eyes closed as Derek resisted the urge to lean over and easily break Stiles' neck.

"This is the start of our journey." Stiles turned in his seat, looking at everyone but Derek – who he was still scared of - as he spoke. "We have to remember it." The camera from the backpack under his seat was soon clicking and flashing away, trying to catch them off guard by acting as if he was just looking at the one he had just taken (which was always the subject covering their face) as he tried in vain to successfully document the start of their journey.

"If you point that at me I'll break your neck." Derek told him without a trace of humour.

"Uh – okay... Well at least Scott's smiling." He shrugged as he looked at the best photo, Scott beaming into the camera, Allison half asleep with a surprised and slightly odd half-asleep smile on her face, Jackson looking up from under his lashes as if he was in a modelling campaign, Lydia laid back against the seat, silk eye mask on, wax earplugs in, oblivious to everything. "We just need one of me." Stiles turned around so he was on his side, trying to get Derek into the shot unsuspectingly.

"Right, we're going." The engine roared to life, Derek's head turned as he manoeuvred the car out of the driveway.

"And so it begins... the great American road trip, just six friends on a journey of self discovery and adventure, what they will discover still unknown, but sure to be amazing..." Stiles began his prepared monologue as they raced through the empty, 5 AM streets of Beacon Hills. "They are leaving their town behind," Stiles continued as they left the city limits, "a wonderful place to be sure, but these adventurers have a thirst for more!"

"Are you gonna be like this _all _the time?" Jackson groaned with a frown on his face.

"I'm not quite sure I like your tone there, Jackson, old buddy old pal. If you mean am I going to be entertaining, handsome, funny and basically the one that keeps this entire trip interesting, something I have a right to seen as I am in fact the one that made this happen, then yes. I am."

"I should have followed in the Porsche so I didn't have to put up with this."

"You'd miss the experience." Scott said, the huge smile on his face growing wider as they got further and further from Beacon Hills, heading out into unknown territory – well, you know.

"That's right, Scott." Stiles said, assuming the role of master and teacher, a role he felt was well deserved due to his huge and vastly superior knowledge of road trips and everything in general. "Jackson here is a slave of the modern world, he'd rather fly places or take his sweet little car," Jackson growled, teeth extending as his car was insulted, "but Jackson - you should know that if you were to fly you'd miss out on all the awesome sights we're gonna be seeing, as well a quintessential American tradition of friends traversing the great unknown, so zip it."

"The great unknown." Derek snorted, glancing down at his GPS with every route mapped out perfectly.

"Turn right." The soothing voice of the GPS lady instructed on queue.

"She has to ruin it, doesn't she." Stiles gave the side of the GPS a playful slap. "How does she even know where to go when she's English?" He leaned over, ready to change the voice to something funnier, or maybe change it to a different language, but having his fingers swatted away by Derek's.

"Are we there yet?" Allison asked sleepily, her head nuzzled into Scott's shoulder.

"A few hours yet, and you better get used to it." Stiles told her happily, not noticing her own groan of trepidation.

"Sacramento blows." Jackson informed them sullenly.

"Well maybe Sacramento thinks you blow, ever think of that, huh?" Stiles said, turning in his seat once more, enjoying his little sparring with the lacrosse star.

"You're so weird..." Jackson smiled slightly before turning to gaze out of the window.

"Did you know Sacramento has six sports franchises?" Stiles asked, Derek and Jackson's ears perking up as they heard. "And did you know that Sacramento has been the capital of California since, I think, 1856."

"1854." Lydia corrected. Stiles jumped slightly, everyone had thought she was asleep, hidden behind her eye mask.

"The sleeping genius saves us with her superior knowledge." Laughing as he turned back to face the road, Stiles wondered absently if Lydia would be any fun on the trip. He loved her, loved everything about her, but still, she didn't exactly seem like the road trip kind of girl.

With a glance backwards, seeing everyone gazing out of windows, relaxing in each others arms, Stiles smiled to himself. He would let their quietness pass for now, it was still early. Inside he knew that they would perk up once they reached Sacramento, their first stop, and everyone really got excited. Another glance was directed at Derek, hands clasping the wheel, eyes straight ahead on the road. The older man looked over at Stiles, who threw him a huge smile that was, obviously, met with a completely dead pan Derek.

"You may not smile now, but I promise you by the end of this trip you won't be able to stop." Stiles crossed his arms, a goofy grin plastered across his face as he watched the road disappearing underneath the van over and over again, sending up a silent thanks to whatever dead guy up in the sky invented cars. He was determined to make this trip the best experience he and his friends - a generic term he used pretty loosely - had ever, and would ever have.


	2. The Big Tomato

The old but well preserved van roared down the dusty highway, heading straight for Sacramento. The six passengers of the van, well, almost all of the six, had perked up considerably since they had set out two hours ago, occupants of neighbouring cars glancing over as they heard the sounds of laughter greeting them when the van roared past, over the speed limit as usual.

"It's _such _a fun game though!" Stiles whined as he attempted to get everyone embroiled in a game of Eye Spy. "You can even go first, Derek." He cocked his head to the side, giving Derek his best puppy dog eyes.

"I'm not eleven any more." Derek told him with a shake of his head.

"Well I am. I spy with my little eye..." Allison mused as she gazed through the glass, "something beginning with..."

"Road!" Stiles shouted before she even got a chance to choose her spy. "Tree! Desert! Car! Old woman right there in that car!"

"All wrong!" Allison laughed, adjusting her position slightly.

"What does it begin with? Come on Allison, keep up." Stiles chided, his brow furrowed as he tried to guess.

"It begins with S."

"Sacramento!" The reply was out before Stiles could even think.

"We can't even see it yet, idiot." Derek said, his eyes still firmly on the road.

"Uh..." Scott's mouth was hanging open slightly as he tried to think. "Sea?" He asked mildly, not registering that you had to actually be able to _see _something to use it in the game. He really wasn't the sharpest tool in the box.

"Come on, Scott. Get with the game!" Jackson joked, shoving his chair playfully from behind. "Sky?" He asked.

"Yep."

"Why didn't I think of that?!" Stiles slapped his hand onto his forehead. "You may have won this battle, Jackson, but believe me, you haven't won the war."

"Someone could have told me the rules!" Scott pouted, his features transforming into a smile as Allison gave his cheek a swift kiss to cheer him up.

"Sea." Derek laughed softly to himself, only Stiles hearing, who turned back to the front of the van so he could talk to Derek,

"Look who finally has a sense of humour." Stiles had been wondering when Derek would cheer up, he knew the guy was a sourwolf but really, who didn't smile for over two hours when they were in the company such amazing friends?

"Whatever." Derek averted his eyes from Stiles', cursing cursing himself for letting them see him having fun. He got a kick out of being the moody one.

The journey continued along the same lines, Jackson being foiled by Derek with his Spy of a 'Toyota Camry Hybrid', and Lydia outsmarting them all on every guess by using the very technical and scientific terms for the many different trees they saw whilst zooming through the light traffic of Interstate 5, tiny pins dotting the horizon many miles ahead, signalling Sacramento. The van roared across the West Side Freeway over Old Sacramento, Stiles excitedly pointing to the famous Tower Bridge. They had been able to see it for a while, but Stiles hadn't noticed, so enraptured was he in the game of Eye Spy. Everyone simply humoured his excitement, it was hard not to feel happy about their trip with such an excited passenger.

"Look at all the trees!" Allison said in wonder, her face practically pressed against the glass as streets passed them by.

"Sacramento has more trees than any city in the world." Lydia informed them smugly as she applied a fresh coat of lip gloss.

"I'm starving." Scott rubbed his belly to illustrate his point, desperately trying to highlight his hunger, oblivious to the fact that everyone was well aware; his stomach had been growling for the past hour.

"Right, everyone out." It was almost a game to see who could escape fastest as Derek's command hit the willing ears, the winner receiving their life and the losers being executed, as everyone rushed forward to escape the hot, stuffy vehicle.

"That feels good." Jackson moaned, looking very provocative as he stretched his limbs in a much too elaborate way, biceps straining around the short sleeved white t shirt, thighs and calves visibly contracting under the bare skin beneath the khaki shorts when he leaned down to massage his legs.

"Horny bastard." Stiles muttered, his own, much thinner arms outstretched above him.

"Where shall we eat?" Allison asked, always considerate of Scott's needs, as the six of them began walking aimlessly down the street, their van parked on a uniform side street.

"How about a picnic in this park?" Stiles gestured vaguely towards Cesar Chavez Plaza with one arm, the other pointing out city hall to everyone as he snapped a picture, as if they hadn't already spotted it as they approached.

"Capitol Park would be better." Derek led the group, ears straining to hear him from his six steps ahead position.

"Looks like Derek's pulling the drivers trump card. Capitol Park it is." Stiles beamed around happily, speeding up a little to thank Derek for his suggestion,

"...Laura brought me..." Stiles' face flushed, his step slowing when he heard Derek's mutterings under his breath. No one else heard him, they were all still talking and pointing out sights to each other happily a few steps behind. Stiles was torn in that moment; should he go back and act like he never heard, knowing full well that Derek would have been able to and – judging by his own increased pace to put distance between him and Stiles – did hear him with his heightened senses, or approach him and offer a word of comfort. Morality won out on self service and Stiles found himself practically running to catch up to Derek.

"I didn't mean to hear what you said, you know." Stiles said, slightly shakily, as he finally caught up. "I'm sorry. For hearing, and for, you know, Laura." Derek merely grunted in response. They walked silently for a few minutes, Stiles resisting his urges to comment on some amazing and wonderful sight he could see, half his mind screaming at him to go back to the others.

"She took me here when we were teenagers." Derek kept his face straight, his eyes focused on the green blur of Capitol Park emerging at the end of the street. "It wasn't meant to be anything special, just a day out." A deep breath. "But it became one of our favourite days."

Stiles just listened as Derek told him about his and Laura's picnic, told him about throwing the ball to each other on the carefree, summers day, giving Stiles a tiny snippet of a past life that he never spoke of.

"Oh it's beautiful!" Stiles had never wanted to rip out Allison's sweet voice box more than he did right then. Her cry had broken Derek's mood, and just like a mirror smashing into a thousand shards the moment was gone, Derek feeling a wave of embarrassment, hurrying his step, effectively leaving Stiles in the dust.

Stiles couldn't pull himself out of Derek's melancholy as they wondered around a small, local store picking up ingredients for a picnic. It had all been his idea, but Allison – gauging Stiles mood better than anyone except maybe Lydia, who didn't really care – took over, marching around the store like a drillmaster, ordering an eager Jackson and Scott to collect baguettes, ham, cheese, butter, assorted packs of biscuits, light snacks like fruit and nuts, 6 packs of coke and lemonade, and plastic cups and plates. The drillmaster remained – with a hint of sugar and spice – as she taught the two teenage wolves how to appropriately pack bags so that things wouldn't get squashed and so the weight was distributed equally, paying with her own money when she couldn't find Derek, who was keeping hold of their first weeks allowance. A slight panic ensued when they couldn't find Lydia – Derek had also been a minor alarm, but Jackson had spotted him sat on a bench across the street – eventually finding her in a MAC store down the street, buying cosmetics on Mr. Martins credit card. No one noticed the books she had bought at the street vendor outside and hidden in the bottom of her oversized purse. Allison's new role as drillmaster began to crack when she attempted to find a spot for the picnic, her usually unfaltering smile waning a little as Derek shot down all her suggestions. Stiles guessed it had something to do with Laura, but he kept his mouth shut; perhaps for the first time in his life he actively made an effort not to put his foot right in the middle of a situation.

"Okay, this is the seventh spot we've looked at and they all seem great,"

"- and look the same." Jackson muttered under his breath,

"so we're staying here, no matter what you say." Scott gave a very appreciative Allison a kiss on the cheek as they settled down onto the slightly dewy morning grass. Plastic bags were packed away to be dumped later, four groans of hunger going out as the spread was laid on, only Derek – who was still too caught up in his memories – and Lydia – who was of the opinion that begging for food was gauche and unacceptable – keeping their mouths shut.

"Gimmie that." Jackson snatched a section of ripped off baguette from Scott's hands with hunger gleaming in his eyes, piling it with ham – no cheese or butter, he wanted to keep his figure up – and shoving it into his mouth.

"Now, now, there's enough for everyone." Stiles joked as he piled his own bread with as much cheese, butter, and ham as he could get his hands on, having cheered up slightly when he got some food into his stomach, which had been growling almost as loud as Scott's.

"I wish we were here longer." Lydia said, her eyes widening as she enjoyed the scenery for a second before returning to reading _The Count of Monte Cristo,_ which was open and hidden inside her purse.

"Can't we stay longer, Derek?" Stiles asked, his voice drawn out, as he looked over at the brooding wolf, glad he was eating, even if it was just a few nuts and a banana.

"No." Derek took a deep breath, burying his feelings deep inside, trying to force his brain to let the past be the past. "We have a schedule, if we stay places longer than we mean to we'll never get this trip over with." His words made Stiles wince, his face falling.

"Hey it's not something to get over with!" Allison told Derek, her voice slightly raised in defence of Stiles, throwing a small piece of cheese at him.

"Sorry." Derek said casually as he caught the cheese in mid air and popped it into his mouth. Inside he felt much more sincere than he showed, he did like Stiles after all, he just thought the kid was annoying as hell sometimes. Plus he had inexplicably opened up to him about Laura, and felt mixed feeling of gratitude and antagonism towards him because of it.

By half past eight the picnic was completely gone, just a few empty cans and plastic wrappers left littering the crumb-coated grass. Lydia grudgingly packed the rubbish away as everyone else started throwing around the baseball Jackson had in the car, only Stiles saw how Derek's jaw tightened when it was passed to him, taking a deep breath before throwing it back to Scott. That small blip on the morning soon passed, and sounds of laughter filled the park as the five of them ran around in circles, trying to steal the ball in mid air, cursing when it hit their fingers just a little too hard, Lydia cheering from the side, mainly for Jackson. It was such a carefree moment that it made Stiles beam; this is what he had wanted when he organised the trip. Friends having fun in new (or not so new – but they would be in new places soon enough) places, getting to know each other and just being teenagers for a change.

The wolf crap that surrounded them back in Beacon Hills would wait, for now they were just enjoying themselves.


	3. Point Reyes

Jackson grudgingly slipped his shirt back on as they made their way out of the park, heading back for the van. The heat of the day had picked up considerably by nine, all the boys but Derek – who was still in a slight mood – taking their shirts off to get some colour, the girls laying out on the grass (which Lydia did with a resigned sigh – she was already two chapters into her hidden book).

"Goodbye, Sacramento." Stiles said wistfully, sticking out his bottom lip and widening his eyes as he looked around the street the van was parked on. It was a completely unremarkable street, but it was special to them.

"Get in or we're leaving you behind." Derek said with a tiny smile on his face as the engine came to life, resisting the urge to laugh along with Scott and Allison as Stiles tripped over his own feet in his hurry to get inside – he wouldn't have put it past Derek to actually leave, just to teach him a lesson.

"Bye, bye, tree town, beautiful city of greens. Forever will you be marked as the start of our journey!" Stiles reeled off a spontaneous monologue about how wonderful Sacramento was as they drove through the streets, sighing theatrically when they drove under the towers of Tower Bridge.

"Stop! It's lifting!" Allison screamed excitedly, looking back at the bridge, sticking her head out of the open window. Cries of 'stop!' from Allison, Scott, and Stiles – especially Stiles – bombarded Derek's ears until he pulled over at the side of the road, slamming his door just a little too hard as everyone but Lydia got out to see a boat pass underneath.

"Smile!" Stiles told Scott and Allison, turning the camera to them after he had snapped at least twenty shots of the bridge. He got a good one of Jackson flexing with the bridge in the background, and even one of Derek gazing into the distance, looking like the principal character of a nineteenth century romance novel from his serious, deep stare.

The journey to their next destination, Point Reyes National Seashore, took longer than expected because of traffic, but Stiles attempted to keep everyone entertained along the way, only allowing the van to lapse into comfortable silences for a few minutes before he was off discussing another topic, or commenting how they should stop here and here and here, his cries for the van to stop being met with deaf ears as they drove near the San Pablo Wildlife Refuge and past - unremarkable to everyone but Stiles – sights on Route 37.

"The plants just look so nice, can't we go for a walk?" Stiles asked, trying to mask his pleas to stretch his legs with the excuse of wanting to experience nature.

"For the fifth time, no." Derek said quietly as he grabbed Stiles' iPod – which was plugged into the stereo – and flicked through the songs, trying to find something that didn't make him want to tear his eardrums out.

"Hey, that was good!" Stiles complained as Derek skipped past one of his favourite songs. "And that!" He complained as another song was skipped.

"Drivers trump card, remember?" Stiles fell into a sullen silence, settling back into his seat as Derek drove, glancing behind him for some _real _conversation and finding Scott and Allison asleep in each others arms, and Jackson having a quick beauty nap, his head hitting the window repeatedly.

"Are you having fun?" Stiles cleared his voice as he asked Lydia.

"Yes." Her eyes glanced up for only a second before they dropped again, onto the invisible-to-Stiles book in her bag. He began a soft whistling instead, though he was quickly silenced with a punch to his arm from Derek.

* * *

Point Reyes Station, the tiny town that served as one of the gateways to the National Park, was a shock to the system after Sacramento. Stiles absently mused that it looked like the kind of close knit, small town that a horror movie would be set in. Everyone talked excitedly amongst themselves as Derek drove the van to the starting point of their hike.

"No one told me we were hiking!" Lydia gasped as she focused half her attention on the conversation and half on her book.

"It was on the itinerary." Jackson laughed. The trail Stiles had planned for them was an easy one, well, as easy as any hike could be. The full details were written down on the itinerary he had personally delivered to everyone a few weeks before the trip. It was 10 or so miles with the famously stunning beach at the end, but no one mentioned the distance to Lydia. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her; maybe just the soles of her feet.

"Right, everyone out." Derek pulled his bag, which was strapped to the top of the car, down, swapping his shoes for hiking boots and throwing Stiles his own boots which he had shoved in Derek's bag before they left, his own bag being too full to hold them. Everyone but Jackson and Lydia had brought the right footwear.

"Are you guys dumb?" Scott laughed as he laced up Allison's top of the line boots; the Argents knew all about hiking – they tracked (oh, and _killed_) werewolves after all.

"They're not fashionable." Jackson and Lydia said at the same time, looking down as the rest of the group glanced at each other before they burst out laughing. Derek swapped his leather jacket for a black hoody so he could move around better, while Allison and Scott shrugged into waterproofs.

"I might stay here..." Lydia looked around a cautiously at the wide open space in front of her, wondering how many bugs were hiding in the dirt and could crawl into her clothes and hair. Jackson was doing the exact same thing, but he was determined to prove his masculinity.

"You can't!" Stiles begged; he wanted everyone to experience the trip together.

"You're coming." Derek growled, siding with Stiles. Lydia's mouth opened, ready to argue back, but Derek's growl sent her packing – literally – she began loading water and energy bars into her purse. The trail was a beginner one, and luckily wasn't too packed – they seldom passed other hikers, only the occasional few who they stopped to talk with for a few seconds, most of them glancing at Jackson and Lydia and shaking their heads at their obvious inexperience.

"An elk!" Stiles screamed as he saw the creature through the sparse trees, grazing in a patch of green among the yellow.

"Shut your mouth!" Derek grabbed Stiles by his collar, almost sending him over the edge of the rocky path. "You'll scare it off." Both thanking and cursing Derek, Stiles fished the camera from his backpack and started to snap pictures of it while everyone ducked down low and tried to get a good look at it.

"Beautiful..." Allison mused, suddenly feeling very romantic and grabbing hold of Scott's hand.

"Isn't it?" Jackson did the same to Lydia.

"We're going uh – ahead." Allison and Scott giggled as they ran forward along the trail, both experienced joggers and athletes respectively, well able to handle the hike at a jog.

"Hey come back!" Stiles got another punch from Derek, who was still gazing at the elk, as he shouted to the shrinking figures of his two friends.

"We're staying here for a while. Go on now." Lydia smiled sweetly, rubbing her hands along Jackson's biceps.

"Aw _man_! You have to be kidding me, we're supposed to be doing this together and now you guys are gonna hook up in the middle of a National Park?! What about the poor elk, he doesn't wanna see that kind of thing!"

"Come on." Stiles ramblings grew fainter as Derek dragged him along the trail, on the one hand happy to be rid of the two least experienced walkers but on the other irritated that he was stuck with Stiles.

"They better watch out for poison oak." Stiles grumbled when he noticed the slightly shiny looking leaves springing out all over the floor amongst the nettles, glad to be wearing jeans. Continuing their hike – Stiles happily pointing out the wide array of flowers, bugs, and different animals that they saw, of course taking pictures of each one – Stiles let the resentment he was harbouring towards the others disappear, trying to enjoy himself with Derek, who was slowly becoming _slightly _more conversational as they passed the hour and a half mark and stopped on a little cropping of rocks to have a five minute rest and an energy bar.

"It really is a nice place." Derek told Stiles as he looked out to the ocean, the waves could be heard crashing on the rocks hundreds of feet below them. It was strangely calming.

"Were you expecting anything less? I did pick it after all." Stiles joked, energy bar falling out of his mouth and onto his lap.

"I don't know why you joke about being self centred all the time, we all know you're not." A flush crept up Stiles' neck at Derek's observation.

"Perceptive..." He tried to laugh his comment off as they continued along the trail, walking in an oddly comfortable silence for the two of them, Derek thanking whatever were-gods he worshipped for keeping Stiles quiet for almost an hour. The boy who was having prayers cast because of him was silently – odd, I know – thinking about how strange Derek was. When there was no one else there he seemed to open up much more, even if it was involuntary at first. Maybe Derek wasn't as bad as he thought after all.

By two o'clock Stiles had began to sweat under the hot summer sun, removing his hoody and hoping they got to the beach soon so that he could go cool off in the ocean.

"I'm so _hot_!" He complained, breaking Derek's wish for silence, though he didn't frown for a change, he had actually began to miss the sound of Stiles' voice.

"We'll be at the beach soon. You can go swimming." Stiles recoiled slightly in shock at the way Derek said it, one eyebrow raised slightly, his smile crooked.

"Uh – okay – I hope you're not as horny as everyone else because, well, there's only me for you to choose unless someone's willing to share and, no offence, but that would just be weird."

"Shut up Stiles." Derek shook his head, tightening the straps of his backpack and striding forward so that Stiles couldn't see his devilish smile.

"Well that was a weird way of telling me I'm crazy..." He whispered, forgetting that Derek could hear him.

"You can relax – there's Scott and Allison." Derek pointed to two small figures frolicking around on the sand of Drake's beach. Even from this distance Stiles could see they were pretty into their make out session, Scott had his t shirt off and Allison was in just a bikini. "Let's leave them." Grabbing Stiles' arm, turning his body in another direction, the two of them set off a little away from Scott and Allison, who hadn't noticed anyone.

"It's so beautiful..." Stiles said without a trace of sarcasm or overblown dramatics as he and Derek stood in the sand, watching the huge white stream of small waves as they hit the shore and broke up into smaller ones.

"Good choice." Derek commented quietly, breathing in the sea air, enjoying the peace of the almost empty beach. He felt like he was back in time, he couldn't explain it, the place was mystical, magical even. He understood why Scott and Allison were willing to brave the rather cold winds to get some skin on skin contact, it was a romantic spot.

"I don't think I'll go swimming though." Stiles said quietly, putting his hoody back on and sinking to the floor. The winds were strong, but they didn't take away from the beauty of the place or ruin the experience at all. He could still see Scott and Allison practically grinding into each other a few hundred feet away. Both Stiles and Derek were feeling pangs of loneliness at the same time, clearly Scott and Allison were enjoying each other, and it was fairly obvious that Jackson and Lydia were doing the same thing somewhere just off the trail.

"I think I need you to choose me to get over your horniness..." Stiles said, almost to himself, as he laid back in the sand, his face screwing up as he realised what he said. "I didn't mean to say that, I swear." He jumped up hurriedly, ignoring Derek's cocky smirk and almost running off down the seemingly endless expanse of beach. It was invigorating running along in the sand, if not a little difficult, and soon he was running not to escape Derek's amused looks, but just because he wanted too, because he was enjoying it, was enjoying everything.

He didn't let his own comment to Derek get to him, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was some part of his subconscious taking over and saying what he really felt... No way, it was just Derek!


	4. Stiles Stilinski Hate Club

"I'm so cold!" Lydia moaned, wishing Jackson was better at warming her up, her eyes roaming over the arms which were flung over her shoulders and doing none of those lovely rubbing up and down warming movements.

"Stop complaining." Stiles told her through chattering teeth as they all made for the cliffs at the edge of the beach, hoping to find some shelter to set their tents up in. Stiles was unsure if they were actually allowed to camp on the beach – something about high tides – but he was sure they'd be okay by the cliffs. They had spent a wonderful – meticulously photographed by Stiles – few hours exploring together, fishing trough the small pools in clusters of rocks to find little sea creatures, picking shells and barnacles that had washed up on the beach, Stiles even got got Scott to make a sandcastle with him. But now they needed somewhere to sleep. Derek led them all up a narrow, precarious path of natural rock, onto low shelves covered in sea weed – clearly the tide came up here. Glancing up, he decided to try for a higher spot. Stiles, Lydia, and Allison struggled along as Jackson, Derek, and Scott ran forward, their wolf bodies well able to handle the cold and the trek.

"This isn't fair!" Allison shouted up at Scott, who was stood on an outcropping with his fists resting on thrust out hips. Allison blushed when she noticed his stance, the wind blowing his shorts back and making his most intimate parts very obvious.

"Put it away!" Stiles said in mock horror as he finally reached the outcropping, almost giving Scott a playful shove which would have probably resulted in a very much dead wolf at the bottom of the cliff, but his arm was roughly grabbed by Derek, just in time.

"Are you sure its safe up here?" Lydia's bottom lip trembled as she looked down, she hadn't realised how high they'd came up.

"No." Derek's reply did little to calm her.

"How about here?" Jackson shouted from his position a little way ahead of them. The shelf they were on was relatively large and completely seaweed free, as they approached Jackson they noticed it dipped a little, and more space was available behind a few large rocks that had created a cave of sorts by the base of the wall.

"What if a rock falls down and kills us?" Stiles asked nervously as he glanced up, expecting a huge boulder to come and smash him in the head any second.

"We'll set up the tents here." Derek motioned to the sort of scoop into the cliffs face, looking like a giant had came with a spade and scooped out a huge chunk of rock. It offered them protection from the relentless wind as well as safety from any of the unlikely falling rocks.

"This is great!" Stiles beamed as he sat down on the sandy coloured stone, sighing when he felt how much warmer it was. "This is what the trips all about," he said to no one and everyone at once, "just being spontaneous and stuff, finding a rock to camp under and setting up shop!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's real sentimental – now help me with our tent." Derek growled, taking the tent off his back and unfurling it. Scott and Allison did the same on one side of them, while Jackson tried to get Lydia to help him but failed miserably. Setting up the tents turned out to be much harder work than anyone had imagined. The wind made it almost impossible to work, it was warmer and much less winder than it was beyond their rock-wall, true, but it was still pretty damn windy, and things had to be firmly secured to the ground with the help of numerous clumps of stone as they set up. Another problem was trying to tie the tents down, there was no grass for the pegs to go into, and while Allison had found a few cracks in the rocks to secure hers and Scott's with, the other two tents had to be practically filled with rocks on the inside edges to keep them down.

"I'm going inside this tent now and I won't be coming out until tomorrow, when we go to San Francisco and actual civilisation." Lydia fumed before she vanished into the small blue tent.

"How about a fire?" Stiles smiled at everyone from under his three hoodies.

"I dunno man," Scott said, wanting to please his best friend but really not wanting to stay out in the wind any longer than was necessary, especially as the sun was beginning to set and he could be with Allison. "I mean, I'm pretty beat..." He scratched the back of his head as he spoke, looking anywhere but at Stiles.

"Oh." Stiles' face fell. "Well, okay then, have a good night." He bit his bottom lip to stop it trembling as Scott and Allison's guilty faces disappeared into their own green tent. "I suppose you're going to bed too." He didn't look at Derek as he spoke, but he knew that Derek would be able to sense how upset he was.

"Stiles, I'm sorry about these guys." He put a comforting hand on Stiles' shoulder before gesturing to the figure of Jackson, a little way down the cliff, trying to find some wood for a fire, "at least he's up for it, right?" Derek felt like he was being patronising and hated it, but he didn't know what to say – he didn't do well with upset people.

"Oh yeah – Jackson." Stiles snorted, roughly shaking Derek's hand from his shoulder. "My best friend, my biggest fan, a real laugh riot." He wished he had some grass to sullenly pick it. Rolling a rock through his hands had to do instead.

"He's kind of funny." Derek said warily, not even convincing himself. He busied himself with pulling out the fire lighters and making a small circle of rocks for a fire. He was tired, hadn't slept since 5 AM, but he could see how much Stiles wanted to _do_ something.

"We're supposed to be having a friends trip, having fun together, and the only guys who actually want to do anything are the two people here that hate me the most. All we need for a perfect Stiles Stilinski hate club is Lydia." He was glad Lydia would have her ear plugs in and wouldn't be able to hear him. Even without them, the wind hitting her tent repeatedly made annoying flapping sounds that made the voices outside sound like an alien language.

"I don't hate you." Derek stopped what he was doing and looked at Stiles, a little shocked.

"Try convincing a jury." Stiles muttered, throwing the rock away and looking at his feet.

"Stiles, I really don't hate you. I promise. Do you think I would have came on a road trip with you if I hated you?" Derek was confused; he didn't exactly love Stiles but he did enjoy his company every now and then, today had just been trying for him. Capitol Park had brought back memories he didn't want to revisit, and besides, he thought he had been pretty nice to Stiles. For the most part, that is. "Look, it's only our first night, there'll be plenty more like this for everyone to enjoy." Stiles just continued looking at his feet.

"I'm awesome." Jackson said proudly as he returned with an arm full of dry twigs – luckily Allison had taught him that wet ones _really _wouldn't work.

"Thanks." Derek took the twigs from his arms and began the arduous process of trying to light a fire. It had started out as just Stiles wanting one to try and recreate some camping fantasy, but now all three boys were desperate for the warmth it would give. Jackson was directed to different cracks in the wall of rocks that protected them to stop the wind while Derek got a little bit lit at a time, using a copy of _The New Scientist - _that Jackson had pulled confusedly out of Lydia's bag – as the starting point for the flames. By the time Stiles emerged from the tent, where he had zipped himself in to try and bear through his bad mood, the sun was almost completely gone, just a sliver of orange left on the horizon. Derek sighed in relief when Stiles finally came out, he had began to think that he was going to stay in the tent all night.

"Smore anyone?" The grin couldn't be kept off his face as he held up a bag of marshmallows.

"No chocolate for me." Jackson said with a shake of his handsome head as he accepted two crackers and a marshmallow, grabbing one of the sticks that they hadn't lit and shoving the little pink ball of sweetness onto the end.

"This is more like it!" Stiles said happily as he devoured his fourth smore, taking a picture of Derek with his, who, surprisingly, didn't throw the camera away. Their faces were lit by the orange glow of the flames as they laughed and joked amongst themselves. Stiles found himself surprised that Jackson actually made some funny and interesting points once in a while, though it was of course punctuated by remarks about wealth, beauty, and material goods. Still feeling bad for how he'd treated Derek earlier, he turned to him while Jackson was focused on his image in the inverted camera of his without signal phone. "I'm sorry for what I said." Stiles willed himself not to look away.

"Forget about it, I'm glad you made me stay up with your dramatics, I'm actually having fun." Derek shot him a wistful smile, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Uh – well, you're welcome. Thanks for um – making the fire, because I probably wouldn't have, you know, came back out or whatever." Stiles ears were burning, and it wasn't because of the fire.

"Do you two wanna be alone?" Jackson joked as he took in the sight of Derek's hand on Stiles' shoulder. A reassuring touch from his alpha wasn't surprising, but he was making no move to take the hand away, leaving Jackson confused.

"Shut up." Derek said a little too quickly, glad that Jackson was a wolf and would bow to his authority, though he probably would have even if he was still human, Derek was pretty intimidating.

"Well, I'm beat." Jackson said, surprisingly using some initiative, taking his final bow and gladly accepting Stiles' praise for collecting sticks before vanishing into the tent were Lydia was already sleeping. Derek and Stiles sat up a while longer, roasting more marshmallows and just eating them straight off the stick. The red on Stiles' ears spread when he found himself imagining what it would be like to feed Derek one. The feeling he was having was strange and unexpected, apart from the few strange comments earlier in the day Derek had never shown any romantic interest in him, and he had never felt any back. He put it down to the romantic, other worldly feeling of the beach.

"I wish we could go walk it." Stiles said as he gazed into the flames, desperate to recreate his perfect fantasies of a beach camping trip. He already had the washed up souvenirs to account for one part of his fantasy; already had the laughter under the sun for another part; and had the marshmallows by the camp fire as the third part. He knew how cheesy it was, but he wanted the midnight walk on the sand, and he didn't care if Derek would be the unlikely partner to his romantic fantasy.

"Let's go then. I have pretty good eyesight." Derek tapped the flesh next to his eyes, laughing along as Stiles realised his heightened eyesight would enable him to make sure they didn't fall. The moon was pretty bright anyway. Stiles beamed as Derek pulled him to his feet, guiding him to the edge of the outcropping from behind with both hands on his shoulders. Stiles could see where he was going perfectly, but he wasn't telling Derek to let go any time soon.


	5. Midnight On The Shore

The rocks were precarious as they walked down to the dark beach, Derek had to steady Stiles more than a few times, both of them wondering why they felt so comfortable with each other. Stiles was embarrassed at how turned on he was by Derek's hands on his shoulders, but even more embarrassed about how romantic it felt when they finally reached the sand and began walking towards the ocean. He just wasn't supposed to be having any sort of feelings about Derek! He could mock the man, could joke with him in the van, could even roast smores with him, but he thought that a midnight walk might have been going just a little too far.

"It's actually really nice." Derek said softly, his hands finally removed from Stiles' shoulders as they walked down the windy expanse of dark beach.

"I'll say." Stiles wanted to give a biting, sarcastic comment about Derek being a romantic at heart, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, it was just such a nice walk. Back up at the camp site the wind was an annoyance, it was biting and got right to the bone, but down here, walking along somewhere you expected it, it was invigorating, clearing Stiles head and calming him. He didn't move when Derek's arm grazed against his.

"Sorry if you thought I was moody today." Derek said quietly as they stood right by the edge of the retreating tide, watching the waves wiping the slate clean every few seconds, a twisted and far too romantic metaphor for what seemed to be happening to them.

"You were being kind of sour," Stiles laughed, "but I kind of expected it, you wouldn't be Derek if you didn't have those moods." He wanted to reach out and touch his face, but contented himself with gazing at the rippling reflection of the moon in the ocean.

"We're gonna have to take some precautions when it's full moon time." Derek said, noticing what Stiles was looking at.

"Just make sure no one eats me."

"I'll try – no promises though." They both laughed lightly, neither really feeling in a mood for humour. They knew it was a time for romance, but were putting it down to the strange energy the beach possessed. If they acted on what they were feeling they knew they wouldn't be able to go back, it was going to be awkward enough trying to get over the almost hand holding they were doing, fingers grazing against each others slightly. For a while they didn't speak, they just walked up and down the beach slowly, revelling in the comfort that the place seemed to radiate; it made Stiles feel safe to be here with Derek.

"I wonder if I'm asleep..." Stiles whispered, once again forgetting Derek could hear him. The night was everything that he imagined a romantic trip to the beach to be. This is how he envisioned Scott and Allison or Jackson and Lydia felt when they were together. He was beyond happy that he was finally having some sort of romantic experience, but very confused as to why he was sharing it with Derek. Of all people.

"You look like you need to be." Derek said, noticing the black marks under Stiles' eyes. The kid hadn't slept for hours and hours, too excited to sleep the night before the trip, and too unwilling to miss even a second of the sights in the van. They headed back to camp leisurely, Derek once again helping Stiles up the cliff, telling him which way to go every now and then, guiding him in the right direction occasionally. Stiles' heart was racing, Derek's hands had shifted from his shoulders to his waist, and it was sweet and romantic and sexy all at the same time. He had always imagined a scene similar to this, but it was _he _who was guiding _Lydia _back to safety, this way was completely different, but definitely not unwanted.

Only a few embers remained by the time they had traversed the rocks and arrived back at the tiny cluster of tents behind the natural rock wall in the cliff face. Kicking off their shoes and leaving them outside the tent – not thinking about the consequences in the unlikely event that it rained – they climbed into the tent at practically the same time, bodies touching chastely as they stripped down and slipped into their respective sleeping bags.

"Shit, it's cold." Stiles muttered, teeth chattering even more than they had been when they first arrived at the site. He wanted to get out of the sleeping bag and put on something warm and comfortable, but every time he thought of leaving the slight warmth he was getting from the relatively thick fabric he winced, he couldn't subject himself to that cold.

"Mm. Night." Derek whispered, feeling quite content in his own bag. He thought about leaning over and spooning Stiles, but what if he kicked him away or yelped in disgust? He realised that it was pretty unlikely, even if they hadn't just had the extremely odd but very nice walk on the beach together Stiles probably would have been glad of the warmth, but still he couldn't do it. Whether it was because his subconscious was screaming that he didn't like Stiles in a romantic way and was trying to pull him out of his mystically-induced delusion, or simply because he was afraid of rejection, Derek didn't know. After listening to the chattering of Stiles' teeth for a good ten minutes Derek couldn't take it any more, shifting so he was laid on his side and scooting as close to Stiles as was possible without actually touching him.

Stiles knew he was right there, he could hear his breathing and feel the warm air on the back of his neck. His mind was shouting for him to make the next move and move back so they were spooning, but his rationality was winning out and telling him how awkward it would make tomorrow, and possibly even the rest of the trip.

The warmth from Derek's tantalisingly close proximity allowed Stiles to fall into a decent sleep for a while, filled with dreams of dark, brooding men and deserted beaches at sunset. With a jolt he woke up, vaguely remembering kissing a man who looked a lot like Derek in his dream. Feeling the heavy, sleep induced breaths of Derek on his neck – much closer this time – Stiles decided to just do what he felt like doing, and pushed himself back into Derek. It took half a second for their bodies to connect, an arm involuntarily worming its way out of Derek's sleeping bag to be draped across Stiles' waist, sleepy smiles plastered across their faces as they feel deeper and deeper into comfortable slumbers. Both his mind and his rationality failed when compared to his desire in the end.


	6. San Fran

"Should we get them up?" Allison giggled as she nuzzled into Scott's neck. The two of them were sat half-in, half-out of the open flap of their tent, sleeping bags draped over them, both unable to keep the smiles off their faces.

"It's better being with you." Scott smiled as he kissed her, running his fingers through her soft, silken hair.

"Come on Mr, I'll start the fire." Trudging across the smooth plane of rock in her bare feet Allison got to work making up the fire with the sticks that were left over from Jackson, Stiles, and Derek's fire the night before.

"Jackson, up!" She could hear Scott shouting, glancing up to see him giving the side of the tent a sharp kick.

"Who did that?!" A squeak from inside let them know his foot had ended up connecting with Lydia instead. "Why is something hurting me?" The high pitched groan continued as Scott and Allison tried to contain their laughter.

"McCall?! What are you doing?" Scott swivelled his head to look beyond the rock wall, seeing Jackson in the distance, a fine coating of sweat on his body, just back from a morning jog.

"You're already up?" Scott asked incredulously.

"Of course. Gotta keep up the body." Jackson threw Allison a smile while he flexed his biceps, bulging out of the white vest he had on. Allison, a maverick at anything to do with camping and wildlife, quickly had the fire going, and moved over to wake up Derek and Stiles, hoping she wouldn't get her head torn off by either of them.

"Stiles? Derek?" Her voice was soothing as she unzipped the tent, stopping half way when she saw the sight within. The two of them had barely moved an inch since their night time joining, Derek's arm still draped across Stiles' waist, Stiles hand resting on top of Derek's, both looking peaceful.

"Holy shit, McCall, come look at this!" Jackson whispered furiously from his previously unknown position snooping over Allison's shoulder. Scott's mouth fell open when he grudgingly came and looked into the tent. The three of them exchanged wary glances, Allison on her knees on the ground, Jackson and Scott both stooped over with their hands resting on their knees, a head peeping over each of her shoulders.

"What do we do?" Scott whispered, scared of how fierce Derek's wrath might be if he knew they had seen him like this.

"That's cute..." A sleepy Lydia mused as she joined the three of them at the half open flap, her face lighting up when she saw it. She wished Jackson had spooned her.

"Der..." Stiles muttered sleepily, attempting to press himself further back into Derek but not getting far, there was already nothing between them. His hand tightened on Derek's.

"We have to go to San Francisco..." Allison said, feeling a little worried. As soon as Lydia heard any words relating to a city and actual civilisation she was thrown from her romantic morning moment and into go-go-go mode.

"_Get up!" _All three of them flinched as she screamed, wincing as they saw Derek and Stiles groan and start to move around a little.

"Wassamatter?" Stiles muttered, slapping his lips together and making those morning sounds.

"_I said UP!_" She screamed again as the three teens around her quickly slunk away so they wouldn't be blamed.

"Jus' a second dad..." Stiles groaned, attempting to worm out of Derek's arms but finding they got tighter and tighter every time he moved, pulling Stiles back into him. A sleepy smile flitted across his face as he gave up and laid his head back down on Derek's other arm, which was now snaking under his neck. Lydia opened the tent fully so the brisk morning winds could perhaps wake Stiles and Derek up before she made her way back to her own tent, idly wondering when she could get a shower. Allison, Scott, and Jackson were already dressed by the time she emerged half an hour later, looking a little less than her normal perfect self but still pretty damn good.

"Hey Stiles, you gotta get up!" Scott shook his best friend a little, trying to be careful not to touch Derek, as he knelt next to him in the tent.

"Just get one of those rocks and whack Derek in the face." Jackson suggested, knowing it would hardly kill the man.

"Move." Lydia shoved Scott aside, taking his place in the tent. She placed her arms on Stiles' shoulders and started to shake him repeatedly, her face impassive as she threw him side to side like a rag doll. "Get up, get up, get up..." She drawled in a bored voice, checking the time every few minutes on her expensive watch.

"I'm up!" Stiles shouted, trying to push her off but failing miserably, his tired arms flailing around in the air before hitting the hard floor under the ground sheet.

"Stop!" Her arms stopped suddenly as Derek growled, mouth snarling back, teeth just slightly extended. "Out." Derek growled again, opening his eyes and seeing everyone staring into their tent. He looked at each one with a glare, what was their problem, he slept in, so what?

"Uh – I'm kind of trapped here." Stiles said happily, motioning to Derek's arm over his waist. Panic flitted across Derek's face for just a second as he finally realised what everyone was staring at, ignoring Stiles' groans of protest as he removed his arms.

"Not a word." Derek's eyes flashed red as he looked from Scott to Jackson, knowing he wouldn't have to bother with Allison and Lydia; they wouldn't dream of saying anything. Everyone outside looked at each other and tried not to laugh as they imagined what could be happening inside the tent when Derek zipped it up to get dressed. Their fantasies were a far cry from the truth; inside the tiny tent Derek and Stiles hardly looked at each other, staying on their own sides as they slipped into fresh clothes, neither even looking as the other changed underwear, no matter how much they may have wanted to. Derek growled for everyone to start packing as he slipped into his hoody and rolled his sleeping bag away, waiting impatiently for Stiles as he struggled to get his own curled back up. Derek wanted to help him – he would have helped anyone with their stuff if it made them hurry up – but he knew how the others might see it.

* * *

By 10 everyone was packed and ready, the fire extinguished, the litter packed away. Stiles had to clamp his lips together to stop from smiling as he walked down the rocky paths back to the beach with Derek behind him, wondering if he'd reach out and guide him like he did last night.

"Not the hike again!" Jackson and Lydia moaned at the same time as they started along the trail.

"No splitting up this time, I don't care how tired we are, we _will _get back to that car." Lydia – surprisingly – said as they set out, none of them talking much. The awkwardness of his wake up scene soon left Stiles when he saw the different flowers, birds, and animals that he had missed yesterday, laughing along with the four other teens, hardly ever glancing back to where Derek was bringing up the rear, making sure no one fell behind.

"Look!" Scott shouted, pointing down to the beach on the cliffs below them. Everyone watched in awe as hundreds of seagulls flew towards the sand in perfect synchronisation before executing thousands of little nose dives towards the water.

"Awesome!" Stiles shouted with a goofy grin, his neck craning to get another look as Derek pushed him along, trying to get them back to the car before midday. When they reached the car Allison took some initiative, although she didn't really want to, and sat up front with Derek, letting Stiles squeeze in next to Scott as far away from the Alpha as possible. The hour and half drive back to civilisation down Highway 1 passed mainly in silence, punctuated by Stiles' – who could never keep his mouth shut, even when everyone else was still dwelling on what they had seen that morning – comments about the coast and the forest as they drove, screaming as they tried to avoid making a poor deer road kill, and begging Derek to stop when they reached drove by the golden sands of Stinson Beach. His pleas were met with a steely glare in the rear-view mirror from Derek. Stiles whooped and yelped excitedly in the back as the van got onto the Golden Gate Bridge, the red pillars and wires a marvel to most all of them. Everyone had their faces pressed against the glass or, in Stiles' case, hanging right out of the window taking pictures and shouting excitedly. The massive metropolitan city scape of metal and glass just visible through the slight fog made Lydia beam.

"The next stage of their journey begins!" Stiles began as Scott laughed next to him, "Everyone is being awkward and totally weird, but never fear, The Paris of The West will cheer them all up! What adventures await them in the confines of the city, no one knows, but they will strive to find as many as possible!"

"Shut up." Derek growled from the front as everyone burst out laughing.


	7. Chinatown

The six friends – though that was questionable with the way Derek was acting – ambled aimlessly down Broadway, turning and gazing in wonder as their eyes were assaulted by the colourful, unknown multitude of stores and restaurants, all the signs in Chinese characters.

"Amazing!" Stiles beamed, giving Scott a playful slap on the arm, his eyes widening in wonder as he tried to take it all in at once. There were hundreds upon hundreds of red awnings with yellow or white writing on them, which Lydia was trying to translate in her head from the Chinese language course she had done online. The three in the afternoon pedestrian traffic was heavy, and the air was laced with numerous languages in all variations of voices shouting to be heard above one another. The six of them had gone straight to a hotel Stiles had pointed out was cheap on his itinerary and checked in, depositing their bags in their rooms (Stiles had burst out laughing when he saw his and Derek's double bed), and leaving their van on a side street - praying they didn't get a ticket.

"Smells so good!" Allison said, leaning up and sniffing the air, smelling the scents of Chinese delicacies wafting from open doors and windows all along the street. They continued further into the maze of small, twisted, overflowing streets, leaning down to get pictures next to the strange sights of live turtles, chickens, and ducks being haggled over by angry, fast talking locals, gazing in wonder at the colourful markets loaded with herbs, joss and dim sum, and stopping to stare the imposing temples and jongs that seemed to creep up on them when least expected. The few hours they spent exploring were some of the best they had, it was such a change from Beacon Hills and their ordinary lives to be in such an alien place. Orange bunting laced with Chinese lanterns hung above them as they weaved through the traffic on their way down Grant Street, trying to find The Empress of China.

"Wow." Allison stared at the view as they walked into the restaurant, luckily being seated at a window table so they could make the most of the impressive views. A stiff Chinese waiter took their order, and soon the table was laden with traditional, piping hot Chinese meals.

"How are you meant to eat with these?" Stiles asked as he tried to get noodles onto his chopsticks, looking at the others with jealousy in his eyes; they were eating as if they had grown up in China. "It's like eating with two number 2 pencils..." He continued, smiling as he trapped a few noodles between the two sticks but sighing as he tried to get them to his mouth and they simply uncoiled and fell down. Scott snorted into his rice wine as he watched Stiles, very proud of himself for being able to use the chopsticks efficiently; he didn't mention he had been teaching himself with an online guide before they left.

"Give me them." Lydia smiled as she snatched them from Stiles' hand, pulling a rubber band out of her bag and tying the top of the sticks together.

"This is so good." Allison said as she shovelled food into her mouth, glancing out of the windows every now and then, still enjoying the amazing view the restaurant offered.

"Stilinksi doesn't think so," A laugh escaped Jackson's lips as he glanced at Stiles, still unable to eat even with the rubber band, "billions of people get nourishment from these and Stiles can't even get a noodle into his greedy mouth."

"Could I get a fork?" Stiles asked a passing waiter.

"You can't use a fork, I thought you wanted to have the experience!" Allison smiled.

"Well if I don't get a fork I'm not going to have any more experiences – ever. I'll die of hunger first." Stiles rubbed his stomach and looked around for his fork, ignoring his friends laughter.

"Here, do it like this..." Derek took the chopsticks out of Stiles' hand, leaving the rubber band on but adjusting it slightly so they snapped together much more efficiently. His fingers grazed against Stiles' as he passed them back, watching as Stiles finally managed to get a decent bit of food into his mouth with a huge grin on his face.

"Look who came through!" Scott beamed, smiling at Derek. "Finally." He added as an undertone, looking away when Derek's glare hit him. "I'm just saying, you've been weird all day..."

"Leave it." Allison tried to kick him under the table, but ended up catching Stiles in the shin instead.

"Thanks a lot!" Stiles groaned, laughing along with everyone as he rubbed his tender flesh, already feeling a bruise welling up under the skin.

"Isn't this better than the wilderness?" Lydia asked with a sweet smile, glad of the cosy interior, the food that didn't have to be cooked over their own flames, and the full service bathrooms with a sweet little Chinese woman giving out mints and spritzes of deodorant and perfume. They talked amongst themselves as they devoured dish after dish, all sharing and swapping round food they had ate enough of, everyone joining in the conversation – even the usually silent Derek.

"Decent price." Lydia said as she checked out the bill, not noticing Stiles' jaw drop when he saw how much it cost.

"It was definitely worth it." Allison suggested as everyone but Jackson and Lydia, who both had access to their parents bank accounts via the credit cards in their wallets, groaned at the cost.

"Yeah, it was." Stiles said genuinely, beaming round at all of his friends on the table.

* * *

The streets were even fuller than they had been on the afternoon when they left them a few hours later. They had taken their meal at a leisurely pace, in no rush to leave such good food and company, and were a little shocked when they emerged into the evening dusk to find a huge line snaking out of the restaurant, cheers going up from would-be-patrons as they saw such a large group leaving. They wandered aimlessly again, pointing out interesting sights to each other, laughing at odd signs and people that they would never have dreamt of seeing back in Beacon Hills. A slight incline – no where near as steep as some of San Francisco's famous hills, but still tiring with their full stomachs – led them to the famous tourist attraction of Dragon's Gate, the main 'entrance' to Chinatown. They had missed it on their way in, taking a different route, and all yelped excitedly when they saw it, not caring if they looked like dumb tourists, just happy to be there. All the couples got a picture under the gate, and Scott, feeling brave after a few cups of rice wine, pushed Stiles and Derek in for a picture together, everyone crowding round the camera and laughing when they looked at Stiles' huge grin and Derek's scowl.

Wandering the streets led them to a local dive bar, Mr Bing's, and the group huddled around the table with their cheap beers, watching the game on a large flat screen TV behind the bar, arguing amongst themselves about who would win, making bets that ended with the loser having to go and buy the next round of drinks. No-nonsense drinkers played games of cards and dice at their tables, the waiters getting drunk and joining in as the night progressed, culminating in a dance around the bar with Stiles, Jackson, Scott, and two drunk waiters. Lydia and Allison giggled from the table and even Derek couldn't resist smiling when a bartender crawled onto the bar and started kicking her way along, knocking down drinks as she did the Charleston to an Ella Fiztgerald song that someone had put on the jukebox. Everyone was having an amazing time, the awkwardness of this morning unable to permeate their happiness as they danced, sung, and drank their way through the night.


	8. Studs & Trannys

"You know, Frisco has a great gay scene." Jackson said, glancing from Derek to Stiles slyly.

"If you have something to tell us feel free, we all know you have some questionable tendencies." Derek replied, smirking as Jackson blushed and looked away.

"We should go check it out, I want to dance!" Lydia pulled at the side of Jackson's vest as they exited Mr. Bing's and wandered onto the busy streets, the night crawlers coming out as day time really ended and the infamous San Francisco night life began. They all piled into two cabs, Stiles ending up squashed between Derek and Jackson, feeling a little weird as he felt their racing hearts and hot skin on his arms. The two of them were feeling horny, the alcohol, the food, the mood, it was all increasing their desire. They both practically jumped out when the car pulled up outside the loud, neon illuminated club.

"Mm hunny child come to _mama_!" A six foot five black drag queen in a glittering ball gown shouted over when she saw Jackson in his tight white vest and blue shorts.

"Gimmie your jacket!" Jackson whispered furiously into Stiles ears, feeling very exposed as hundreds of eyes turned to see who the queen was shouting at.

"No way, this is priceless." Stiles gave him a playful shove, blushing when a pocket sized Hispanic transvestite wolf whistled.

"This is great!" Allison beamed as she stepped out of the taxi, which had just pulled up a few seconds after the first one.

"Ooh it's little miss small town, come here baby, I'll show you the pleasures of the underworld!" Another queen cackled when he saw Allison, looking very innocent in a pair of black jeans and a white blouse, her shiny brown hair tucked behind her ears.

"She needs glamming up!" A muscle bound man stepped off the pavement, taking a crown of feathers and gems off his head and placing it gently on Allison, kissing her on the cheek and taking her hand, guiding them towards the doors of the club. Derek strolled straight through, but the bouncer stopped the other five, demanding ID.

"They're with us, Tiana!" The black drag queen screamed, linking her arm through Jackson's who smiled over awkwardly.

"Don't be getting them in no trouble now." The bouncer said with a wink, letting them all pass. Inside was huge and red, with balconies littered with muscle bound men and queens in grand costumes around the double story room. Disco music reminiscent of a 1970's club blared while drag queens sung along on stage, each one more elaborate than the next. It was a nexus of hedonist pleasure and over the top gay culture, and they all loved it.

"Come on, handsome!" The black queen dragged Jackson off to the dance floor, which was basically just anywhere in the room. Bodies were grinding in alarming close proximity all over the room, by the bar, on the balconies, on the tables.

"He's _my_ boyfriend!" Lydia shouted, running after them.

"Four beers." Derek grunted as he got to the bar, a man who looked alarmingly like him, decked out in a black leather waistcoat with nothing underneath and matching black leather pants winking as he took the order. Scott shuffled from side to side awkwardly as Allison began letting loose next to him, throwing her arms around as she finished the beer and ordered one Sex On The Beach after another.

"I wanna dance, I love to dance, I wanna dance, let's go dance!" She shouted to Derek, Scott, and Stiles, laughing drunkenly as she attempted to grab as many limbs as possible and pull them onto the dance floor. Turning back to her boys when she reached a spot she liked, she giggled when she realised she had only managed to catch Stiles, Scott, and an unknown girl in a tight red corset, who laughed along at the fun of it all, joining in with their dancing.

"You know how to _dance_, girl!" The blonde stranger told her before she leaned in and kissed Allison, her tongue darting into Allison's surprised but drunkenly willing lips. Scott's mouth was hanging open as he watched in shock, and even a little awe.

"Better not let her get too out of control, you might wake up without a girlfriend!" Stiles laughed, slapping Scott on the back and jumping as he felt a hand gabbing his ass. The entire thing was a sweaty, drunken mess of limbs grinding and touching each other, and they soon got used to the occasional grope or attempted kiss, though Stiles managed to dodge all his would-be-suitors for a time, until the glittering, glossed lips of an abnormally tall queen with the most defined muscles Stiles had ever seen clamped down over his, while Scott was caught by a tall black man in nothing more than glittering hot pants and Allison was accosted by a leather bound stud who sung along to Kylie Minogue as his lips touched hers. Derek watched it all from the bar, fending off anyone looking for a quick hook up with a snarl, making sure none of his friends got too out of control.

"Where's Allison?!" Scott shouted into Stiles ear as he noticed his girlfriend was missing

"I dunno!" Stiles screamed back, attempting to be heard over the sound of Cher. "Oh god..." Stiles burst into hysterical laughter as he looked up at the stage and found who they were looking for. Allison had been taken back stage by the men from the door who loved her innocent look, and had been transformed. Her hair was sticking out in all directions, a purple wig askew on top of her feathered crown, her body squeezed into a black leather bedazzled catsuit, a whip in one hand and a triple vodka Cosmo in the other, unable to contain her joy as she flew around the stage with the singers and dancers.

"Jackson is _cheating _on me!" Lydia squealed as she finally found Scott and Stiles. "I've just seen him kissing a – oh god!" She stopped when she noticed Allison on stage, her anger at Jackson disappearing as she burst into laugher, watching Allison being hoisted onto two bare, muscled shoulders, her hands flailing wildly, screams of laugher escaping her open mouth.

"Help!" Jackson's face appeared for a second through the crowd before it was dragged back by a green, glittering arm.

"Come on Derek!" Stiles yelled, shimmying across the dance floor to grab Derek's hand. Derek couldn't help but laugh, Stiles really was an awful dancer, limbs flying in any direction they could go, head bobbing up and down, words mouthing the lyrics even though he didn't know them. Derek allowed himself to be taken to where Scott and Lydia were dancing together, Lydia grinding against the girl to her left and the boy to her right all at once, her eyes closed, lips parted, letting the music wash over her and not even caring that her hair was a little damp from the heat of the club and the movement of her body.

"Come on!" Scott yelled as someone poured a drink down his throat before he went back to furiously bobbing his shaggy head and waving his hands in the air, his beer spilling all over the man behind him, turning around to apologize and seeing the man's boyfriend licking the beer off his shiny, bald head.

"Oh my _god_! I've never had so much fun!" Allison said through her giggles as she returned to their group, her clothes lost forever, replaced with the black catsuit. Scott was rubbing himself all over her, his hands tracing the curves of her body which were hidden under the loose blouse no longer, his fingers pulling down the zip slightly so the swell of her breasts – it was obvious she had also lost her bra, and panties too by the lack of a line on the suit – came forward to greet him in a tantalising cleavage. Lydia's cardigan was gone, thrown onto the floor, her eyes rolling into the back of her head more and more as she did shots at the bar, letting drag queens and lesbians buy her drink after drink, laughing hysterically. She had never let loose so much.

"Where is she?!" Jackson shouted into Stiles ear.

"You're new girlfriend? Or should I say boyfriend?!" Stiles laughed, pointing behind Jackson to the obvious bulge in the tight green gown as his admirer attempted to follow him across the room.

"Lydia!"

"Oh, the bar!" Stiles clenched his fingers into a fist and used his thumb to point out Lydia, who was swinging around on a bar stool, only saved from falling by a man in a peacock headdress who kept reaching out to save her.

"You are so sexy tonight." Jackson whispered into her ear, loving how she was shedding her uptight image, his hand never leaving her waist as they went back to the dance floor, their lips instantly colliding, Lydia's jealousy over the drag queen forgotten.

Stiles glanced at Derek as he watched the other couples pair up, wrapped up in each other, forgetting all about Stiles and Derek. Stiles was still dancing like it was his last night on earth, jumping up and down as the camp disco songs were replaced by _The Kills_, one of his favourites. Even Derek got into it when the music wasn't all gay idols, his head going back and forth, arms swinging slightly.

"_What New York used to be!" _Stiles sung, unable to hear his own shouts because of the loud music. He and Derek danced together for what felt like hours, letting the heavier, more to their taste music envelop them as they danced among the mass of bodies. Spinning around to push off the hands that kept grazing his ass, Stiles jumped when he felt a different set strong hands grazing over his waist for just a second, turning around in time to see Derek smiling drunkenly, his arms leaving Stiles' waist reluctantly as Jackson approached them, Lydia in tow, and began dancing. Soon Scott and Allison managed to part themselves and joined the others too, everyone bumping into each other, careless and carefree while they danced, the sun beginning to rise on San Francisco, though that didn't slow down their party at all.


	9. Coffee & Tylenol

Six almost naked bodies were entwined amongst each other on the double bed of the San Francisco hotel room, the other two rooms they had booked forgotten when they stumbled back to their home-for-the-night at 5 AM. They could all hear the relentless banging on the door, but none of them were willing to move out of the warmth and comfort they were enveloped in to inform the desk clerk that they would indeed be checking out today.

"Huh?" Stiles grumbled through bleary, half open eyes, knowing he should remove his fingers from Jackson's nipple but unable to move his arm, which was trapped under Allison's bare leg.

"Geddoff..." Scott moaned, trying to get Lydia's hand off his thigh while unintentionally snuggling deeper into Derek's chest.

"Ow!" Jackson yelped as Allison turned over, the whip from last night still clasped firmly in her fingers, its edge stinging Jackson's back. He could feel something hard on the back of his head, burrowing painfully into his skull, but he was too tired to move - his limbs felt like they were laced with some form of paralysis poison.

"What the –" Derek let out a drawn out groan as he opened his eyes, taking in Scott's head on his chest, Lydia's arm draped over his waist, and Stiles' head resting dangerously close to the tent in his boxers. "Oh fuck..." Derek's brute force sent bodies flying as he jumped up, watching with blurred vision as the limbs closed in on his previous space, finding new bodies to touch. He glanced around the room, taking in the three empty bottles of champagne and the half smoked joints, wondering where on earth they got them from. With a pang of panic he stumbled over to the bin, hoping to god that there were no used condoms in there. If they had a drunken orgy he might never be able to look at them again.

"Go to sleep..." Lydia mumbled, lazily wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, smearing lipstick all down her chin.

"This isn't happening..." Scott said as he opened his eyes, angling his body so his arousal wasn't digging Jackson in his ribs any more.

"Summit on my head." Jackson stretched, furrowing under his hair to find the source of the sharp pain to his skull, his fingers grazing across the culprit under Stiles' boxers. "Oh shit! Stilinksi!" He was up like a flash when he realised what it was, shaking the hands and legs off him in a panic, running straight for the bathroom, a little stooped over to hide his own bulge. The four bodies left on the bed slowly came to life, stretching and yawning, no one looking each other in the eyes.

"Please tell me nothing happened." Stiles said, looking up at Derek as he came back from his and Stiles' room down the hall, now dressed in some jogging bottoms and a black t shirt.

"I checked all the bins – no condoms. I don't think anything happened..." Derek looked over vaguely, wondering if they had done something, just minus the protection.

"Nothing happened." Allison giggled, memories of whipping Stiles before dancing on the bed in her catsuit, a bottle of champagne in one hand, came back to her. Last night she was drunker than she had ever been, but she very clearly remembered everyone passing out after their party. No sex involved.

"You lost your clothes." Stiles grinned through practically stuck together eyes from his sitting position on the side of the bed as he threw a glittering green gown across the room, landing with a thud at Derek's bare feet. Allison burst out laughing as she remembered them inviting Jackson's admirer back to the hotel with them, all cheering when she pulled a few joints out of her bedazzled, stuffed bra.

"What did he wear to get home?" Scott asked, mouth hanging open as he looked around for his clothes in the mess of garments on the floor, not finding them anywhere.

"You two traded." Derek laughed, throwing the dress across the room as he remembered Scott and the queen switching clothes, Scott parading up and down in the gown to the sounds of Liza Minelli.

"I need a coffee." Lydia clutched her pounding head, slipping on Stiles' t shirt and padding out of the room back to her own without another word.

"I can't." Stiles let his body fall in a heap to the floor, curling in on himself, unable to move an inch. He could feel someone dragging him across the floor, the carpet burning his bare back as he was pulled along. "No!" He shouted, trying to wiggle free but just ending up twisting his arm. A shocked Midwestern couple stood with their backs to the wall as Derek dragged Stiles easily along the carpet to their own room two doors down, sipping a bottle of water as he went and throwing them a casual morning greeting.

"Get in the shower." Derek commanded as he slammed the door to their room closed, leaving Stiles flailing around on the floor, boxers askew, head pounding.

"I need a pill or something." Stiles groaned as he clutched his temples. "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay..." he repeated over and over, trying to force his mind and body to believe it and cure him of his ridiculous pain. Every muscle in his body was aching. "Help!" The shout escaped his lips, not knowing what was happening as he felt his body being picked up by a pair of strong arms. "Ow!" Another shout came out as he was dumped into the tub, feeling sharp, cold pins stabbing into his body as Derek turned on the shower. "Just take my life, please." Fake sobs racked his body, trying to get Derek to take pity on him.

"Shut up and get dressed." Derek slammed the bathroom door behind him, another slam signalling he had left the hotel room all together, on his way to go and get the others up and ready – in a similar fashion if need be.

"I can do this." Stiles told himself, clutching the shower curtain for support as he dragged his aching body from the bottom of the freezing cold tub, hoping he wouldn't pull the thing down. The shower felt much better when he turned it to hot, letting the water soothe the aches out of his shoulders, washing his face under the relentless stream of water. A quick run back to the bedroom allowed him to grab some clothes and all the hygiene things he _needed _to try and mask the smell of alcohol which was dripping from his pores; deodorant, cologne, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash.

"You better not be asleep in the shower." Derek burst into the bathroom, startling a very naked Stiles who was slowly brushing his teeth, his arm too weak to do his normal brushing motions. "Sorry."

"Whatever." Stiles threw a hand into the air, they had all slept almost-naked on top of each other, what difference did it make? Besides, he was too tired to reach for a towel to cover himself. After barely managing to struggle into his clothes Stiles went back to Scott and Allison's room – the sight of the night (or was it the morning?) of fun – while Derek took a shower, throwing himself down on the bed in a lazy heap, his head not lifting until he smelt the coffee being brought in by Lydia, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses, one of Jackson's caps covering her messy, shower wet hair.

"I have coffee and Tylenol." The four bodies crowded on the bed – now fully clothed and trying _not _to touch – jumped up from their hangover induced haze or blurred lines and screaming voices in their heads, scrambling over each other, hands held out greedily for the pill which they all prayed would make them feel a little better, palms clasping the searing hot Starbucks cups, sighing appreciatively as they felt the brown liquid soothing their raw throats.

"What are we doing today?" Derek asked cheerfully as he returned, staring into the dead faces of his friends, who looked back at him as if he had three heads. "What?!" He asked incredulously as everyone groaned and clutched their heads simultaneously.


	10. Cable Cars

A strangely enthusiastic Derek seemed to be leading the trip for the day. Stiles wanted to comment about how they appeared to have swapped bodies, Derek chatting happily as they walked along the crowded streets while Stiles clutched his head and pulled his baseball cap down a little further, sipping water and coffee alternatively from opposing hands, but he couldn't bring himself to ruin the good mood Derek was embracing.

"I feel like death warmed up." Lydia groaned, hiding under her cap as she remembered some of the things she had gotten up to last night; grinding against strangers; swinging from barstools; kissing drag queens. None of them mentioned the making out with total strangers they had all (except Derek) indulged in, it was something fun and kind of naughty that they had all enjoyed, though they felt no desire to fray any relationships by bringing it up.

"Stop! We have to eat here." Stiles halted the group, pointing out a diner advertising 'The Best Pancakes in Frisco' on the side. "This is meant to be the pancake tour of America and we haven't even had a real breakfast yet." His hangover was trying to ebb away at his euphoria over spotting a perfect place for breakfast, but he pushed against it, determined not to let it take over. The six of them squeezed into a booth by the window, ordering mountains of food from the cheerful waitress who could tell they needed something to soak up the alcohol in their stomachs.

"Remember when you were dancing on stage?" Stiles laughed through a mouthful of pancakes, maple syrup dripping down his chin.

"Oh my _god_, yes! I wonder who has my clothes." Allison giggled back, covering her mouth with a waffle.

"At least you got a catsuit out of it." Intoned Jackson as the group laughed at his sing-song voice. "And a crown." He continued as he loaded his plate with pancakes, giving his diet a miss for the day, he needed something solid in his body.

"That crown..." Scott shook his head with a smile on his face. "You looked so funny." He blushed, not adding how sexy she had looked with the tight black leather clinging to every inch of her body. Everyone glanced at each other, knowing exactly what he had left out, all bursting into laughter at the same time. Lydia washed down another Tylenol with some orange juice as they planned what to do for the day, wanting to experience as much of the city as they could before they had to get going to their next destination.

"How about going to see some art?" Allison suggested with a shrug, vaguely remembering some article she read about how great the San Francisco art scene was.

"I can't focus on art." Grumbled Stiles, his eyes still bloodshot and bleary, but feeling much better after he had wolfed down his sixth pancake and washed it all down with two coffees and three glasses of orange.

"Can't we go to the top of that huge pyramid building like on GTA? I used to parachute off the top as CJ." Scott asked as Lydia giggled next to him.

"The Transamerica building isn't open to the public." They all laughed again as Lydia said 'trans', memories of last nights drag queens and transvestites flitting back to six minds at once.

"I already have a perfect idea." Derek said, his mouth a confident smirk, giving nothing away despite everyone trying to guess what it might be. He led them to their destination with the help of the map application on his phone, snapping every now and then when they got close to guessing it. The streets were bustling as they made their way up and down hills, through side streets full of roller skating men in tight red vests, past vintage stores with overflowing baskets of clothes lining the side walk, walking by huge skyscrapers and gazing up in wonder. Stiles – who was feeling the most cheery after Derek – took pictures of everything, pouting sullenly when he failed to get any shots of his friends, none of whom wanted to be immortalised on film looking so hungover. Derek humoured him, absently wondering why he was so happy today as Stiles took pictures of him smiling in front of famous sights.

"Is your plan to walk us round all day looking at stuff? It's pretty good, but I need to sit down." Jackson asked Derek with a moan as they stopped on the corner of the street, waiting for 'walk' to flash green.

"I suppose this is part of it." He replied with a shrug, adjusting the map on his phone to locate his final destination, taking them this way then that way as he tried to figure it out.

"Cable cars!" Lydia shouted when they arrived at the station and joined the queue, doing a little dance when she guessed right.

"Seriously?" Stiles asked, not noticing the sign, looking at Derek with a huge grin on his face. "I've always wanted to go on these, but I forgot all about them!" He cursed himself mentally for missing such an important activity off his itinerary. "Thanks." His face was soft as he looked at Derek, hoping he understood that the thanks was more for being so cheerful and happy today, and not just for taking them on the cable cars.

"Sure, I mean, you know." Derek scratched the back of his neck to give him a reason to look away from Stiles' appreciative face. Grabbing the camera from his hands, he filled the time by snapping pictures of Stiles in front of passing cable cars, waiting until they could get on one.

"We have to get at the back so we can stand up." Lydia said excitedly as they hopped up the slight step onto the little red and gold cart, talking excitedly amongst themselves. Jackson was the only one who sat – his legs felt like they may cave in at any given moment – though he still watched the streets happily passing him by, head resting against the glass between two strangers, who let him off for stinking of booze because he was so handsome.

Scott and Allison were wrapped in each others arms at the very end of the cart, holding onto the poles as they were taken up the steep hills with ease, while Stiles, Derek, and Lydia were having the most fun of all, eyes wide as they saw some of the sights they had missed on their long post-breakfast walk, fingers pointing out famous buildings, arms shoving each other playfully every now and then.

"Woo hoo!" Stiles yelled as he hung from the side of the cart, swinging around on one of the poles, smiling back at some of the other passengers who shoved each other and laughed along. His enthusiasm was infectious.

"You look like you have some experience on there." Scott laughed, watching Stiles go for another swing, a passing car getting dangerously close to his thrown back head.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the one who was walking round in a sequinned dress!" Scott buried his face in Allison's hair as the blush crept up his neck.

"Did you know these cable cars are the only National Monument that is mobile in the whole world?" Lydia grinned, throwing her own head out of the cart a little and looking forward excitedly, letting go of any insecurities about how she looked with her cap covered, curly shower hair.

"This is so fun!" Allison said, wrapping Scott's arms around her a little tighter, letting the wind flow through her damp hair (thankfully washed after the mess the drag queens had made of it back at the club). The cart got fuller and fuller as they stopped off to pick other riders, who both stood in front of Jackson's view and tried to jostle the rest of them away from the open section at the back, though they always backed down after a well timed growl from Derek or a snarl from Scott.

"It was a perfect idea Derek." Stiles shouted into the wind, his entire body on the outside on the cart from his position on the little outside ledge, only remaining stable by having one hand on the pole, the top of his hand grazing against the bottom of Derek's. They both knew something had shifted in their friendship over the last two days, especially because of the night at Point Reyes, but neither of them mentioned it. No one wanted another perfect day ruined by some emotional over thinking.

San Francisco continued to assault the eyes of the six friends as they took in more and more of the city after hopping from the tram at the end of the line, tiny feelings of disappointment washing over them when they realised they couldn't get the same one back the way they came, they had to leave so other passengers could board.

Museums and Galleries passed by in a blur of culture before stomachs were filled at at a quaint little café on the bay, the amazing views over the water and of the Golden Gate Bridge taking their breath away. No one really wanted to leave the city, it had been everything they had hoped for and more, each and every one of them grumbling as they settled down in bed that night, luckily able to comfort themselves with thoughts of the places they would be visiting once they left.

The next morning – when Stiles and Derek rather happily woke up holding hands, though they didn't mention it to anyone else nor each other – was an unimportant and uniform time of furious packing, yelling about things they had lost, panic over how much money they had left (despite the fact it was only day three everyone was worried they would run out!) and general chaos as they all ran up and down the halls to each others rooms, trying to fit in the new coat or pair of jeans they just _had _to buy yesterday, but now couldn't find space for.

"You're driving." Derek told Jackson happily as he, Lydia and Stiles slipped into their seats while Allison and Scott took command of the packing duties, securing a few cases to the roof, Allison holding everything steady as Scott tugged, pulled, and tied, trying to get everything to stay down – no one wanted their precious cargo being the top suspect in a murder case when it flew into some poor, unsuspecting drivers window.

"I'll get us there in no time." Jackson played around with the keys, executing one perfect catch after another as he threw them into the air, relaxing on the the side of the truck in the tiniest denim cut offs and the tightest white vest. It looked like the gay culture had gone to his head.

"Hurry it up dominatrix lady!" Stiles yelled, swivelling in the passenger seat to look through the van at Allison and Scott, who were still attempting – rather successfully, it had to be said – to squeeze in the sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, ice boxes, and other luggage they didn't have space for on the roof and were now having to shuffle around. They had bought quite a few new clothes in the vintage shops that littered the city, all of them wanting to get something that they could wear and think of San Francisco in, the only problem was getting it into the car. Allison's most prized possession (perhaps a slight exaggeration...) – the black catsuit – was shoved in one of Derek's cases next to her new purchases, her old blouses, t shirts and jeans safely tucked away in her own case. A giggle escaped her lips as she slid in next to Lydia, idly wondered how she would explain the black leather creation to her father.

"Dude, have you seen pictures of the trees at Yosemite?" Scott asked Derek excitedly as Jackson put his foot down, wincing when he turned to check behind them and felt his neck click before pulling them out of their illegal parking space. Scott was trying to get up the courage to ask Derek if they could shift and run through the forests at the National Park they were headed for, though he wasn't sure how safe it would be for any unsuspecting hikers if they got really into it, especially with Jackson there, a relative newbie to the wolf world.

"They look awesome!" Stiles interrupted, getting thrown off balance a little as Jackson guided the van down a steep hill, a cable car passing by them. Stiles gazed it at with a smile on his face as he remembered the day Derek had planned – and executed perfectly – for them yesterday.

"Take the next left, then continue for 500 yards." The trapped English woman inside the GPS told Jackson. For the first few miles they just watched the city passing them by, the obligatory groans going up when they got stuck behind some 10 AM traffic, cheering when they drove over Bay Bridge with Treasure Island sticking out of the water, watching San Francisco shrinking behind them before it eventually disappeared, only fleeting glances available when there was a gap in the foliage.

"Yosemite here we come." Stiles sighed – a little sadly – San Francisco wouldn't be forgotten any time soon.


	11. Yosemite

A strange melancholy settled over the occupants of the van as Jackson guided them through Oakland, San Leandro, and Livermore down the 580. They were all excited to reach their next destination, but a mixture of sadness at leaving San Francisco, and a need for some respite from the sound of one anothers voices – sleep hardly counted – plunged them into comfortable silence as their journey continued.

Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts as they hit the next town, only a few words being exchanged as they stopped for gas at an unremarkable station by the side of the highway, where they also picked up a few snacks.

Stiles was wondering if Derek was thinking about their night of spooning back in Point Reyes, and the hand holding they had indulged in last night, almost unwilling to admit that he wanted it to happen again.

Jackson was wondering if he looked too camp in his cut off shorts, which had ridden up uncomfortably, his position in the seat shifting awkwardly every few seconds as he tried to contain his bulging crotch which was threatening to slip out of the bottom.

Allison was wondering if she should wear the catsuit one night for Scott, though he didn't seem to need it last night, while also thinking about calling her dad to tell him she was safe and was having fun. Pink rose in her cheeks as she realised how odd the two topics were together.

Scott was wondering what Derek and Stiles were up too, exchanging smiles every now and then when they caught each others eye in the rear view mirror. He had brushed off Point Reyes as a reaction to being cold, after all, he and Allison had slept in almost the exact same position, but now he wasn't so sure.

Lydia was wondering if she could escape from jail like Alexandre (she was back to reading _the Count of Monte Cristo _surreptitiously) or if she wouldn't need to because Jackson would come and rescue her. She was also thinking about the mathematical equation she had been trying to solve in her head for the past hour, as well as that cute new gloss she saw in _Vogue_.

Derek was wondering if Stiles was looking into the mirror and catching his eye with that devastating, lustful expression on purpose, while trying to sort through his own feelings for the charming, annoying, funny, idiotic, sweet, and desperately irritating boy.

And as such continued the 170 mile journey, each passenger (oh, and let's not forget the driver) entangled in their own neurosis.

* * *

"Holy hell!" Stiles' eyes were wide as they drove into Yosemite National Park, his eyes darting this way and that, trying to take everything in at once. "Can anyone else see these trees?! Please tell me I'm not delusional, because no one else seems excited, they're freaking _huge_!"

"We see them." Jackson said, giving Stiles – who had been a surprisingly enjoyable passenger, though somewhat of an irritating back-seat driver – a slight smile.

"They'd be sweet to climb." Scott said, receiving a slap over the head from behind as Allison's mouth dropped open; she was not having Scott risk his life by climbing trees with those wolf claws as his only equipment.

"Aren't the Sequoiadendron giganteum just beautiful?" Lydia sighed theatrically as she took a few pictures of the trees on her phone – the only pictures she had taken so far on the trip.

"Huh?" Stiles' question was ignored as Jackson parked the car, everyone hopping out excitedly – both to finally stretch their legs after three hours, and to finally be there.

"So who's up for the hike to Half Dome?" Asked Derek, rubbing his hands together, letting the morning air get into his lungs. He much preferred nature and the great outdoors to cities, though he had to admit he had a lot of fun in San Francisco.

"Oh _no _chance. I wouldn't even go up there if Carl Gauss was waiting at the top to teach me his secrets." Everyone stared at Lydia in confusion at the mention of the famous mathematicians name. "Forget it." An amused smile crossed over her face as she popped the trunk and loaded water from the ice box into her bag.

"We could just walk around?" Stiles suggested. "You should all just be as happy as I am to be enjoying the great outdoors – the fresh air, the wildlife, the nature – it's unbeatable!"

"You sound like you're on a game show." Jackson said as he threw his cut offs into the trunk and swapped to full length jeans so his legs wouldn't get stung and bitten, adding a hoody to fend off the slight morning chill.

"Good old Jackson's back. I guess the camp look is reserved for the hoards of admiring gay guys back in the city, huh?" Stiles almost fell over as Jackson combated the playful shove coming his way with a rather angry shove of his own. "The guy has sexuality issues..." Stiles complained, rubbing the ribs Jackson had connected with.

"We're going to the Mariposa Grove." Lydia informed them cheerfully, consulting the map which was nailed to a board between who pieces of wood by the side of the road they were parked on. "Only an hour or so away, I can handle that to see those trees." Clearly she loved the Redwoods.

"Trees it is!" Allison beamed. "Which way?"

Lydia led the group, taking an authoritative stance, trying to mimic Derek yesterday, barking at them to keep up, storming ahead despite wearing a fashionable pair of pumps instead of hiking boots like everyone else (minus Jackson), and regaling them with information about the tallest and most wonderful trees she had seen or read about.

"... while that line - which broke away when samples were removed from their original habitat - is only found in Europe, this particular branch of Sequoiadendron giganteum is quite unique, and the Mariposa Grove is home to some of the largest trees of its kind." She was thrilled about visiting the Grove as she continued the story of the Redwoods in the area, uninterested in anything they had to say in response, her monologue only interrupted by a few squeals when she saw a particularly disgusting bug, or stumbled on a wry branch littering the path.

"Isn't the story of trees fascinating?" Stiles said – heavy sarcasm – to Derek with a grin.

Derek smiled back at him, fingers gripping the straps of his backpack to try and thwart his hands – who seemed to have a mind of their own – from reaching out and connecting with the younger boys. "Trees are good for a werewolf." He told Stiles, repressing a bad joke about 'wood'. "We can hide from the hunters like her father," his head inclined towards Allison's back, who was walking a little way ahead, "catch game in them, stuff like that, you know."

"Oh sure! I know all about running through the forests on four legs, catching and killing raw animals, maybe even going after a human once in a while." Stiles joked, giving Derek a shove just so he could connect with his body again.

"I don't eat it raw! I take it back to the house and cook it."

"What, in the charred remains of your scary old mansion?"

"Yeah – those scary, charred remains that happen to have a working oven. I have a butane tank I messed about with." The two of them continued messing about and joking with each other as they followed a few paces behind the rest of the group, finding that spending time alone was getting easier and more enjoyable as the days of their trip passed; Derek had started to enjoy Stiles' ramblings (in moderation!) and Stiles had begun to appreciate that while Derek could be that moody, brooding wolfman most of the time, when he actually let his guard down he was quite fun to be with. They all noticed the trees getting bigger and bigger as they got closer to the Grove - though even if they hadn't Lydia's excited squeals would have let them know - each one of them gazing up in awe at the giants of nature, running their hands across the bark when one was close enough, perhaps hoping to tap into some of the majesty of the tall, ancient sentinels.

"So old..." Allison mused as she traced the unintelligible patterns of the bark with her soft fingers, yelping when she felt the defences of the tree pushing her away, depositing a thick splinter under her skin.

"Damn tree!" Scott – in some pathetic but oddly endearing protective moment – yelled, giving the tree a hard kick and only getting a bruised toe for his trouble. Derek and Lydia were gazing up at them as if they knew something everyone else didn't.

"They're cool and everything," Stiles began nonchalantly, "but I don't see what you do. I get that they're like even older than the oldest grandparent but they don't get all whispy and stuff so that's pretty good but, uh, yeah."

"Trees get old too." Derek frowned, the offence the trees felt at Stiles very inaccurate observation manifesting on his face. "I just love them, like these –" Derek led Stiles over to the famous Bachelor and Three Graces, the two of them standing a little away from the small groups of tourists who were snapping pictures of each other next to the cluster of trees. "- I read that if even one of these falls, all four would come down with it, like a pack." He scratched his head, suddenly wishing he didn't say anything.

"Go on! The hard layer of ice around your heart is finally melting."

"Uh – well, they need each other to survive. They didn't used to, but now their roots are so tangled up and stuck together that they can't live without each other. Like me and the pack," He gestured vaguely a few yards behind him, where Jackson and Scott were whacking each other with sticks, "I get that I have to open up and let people in to survive, I can't do it alone, and now I have responsibilities to _my _pack." The two of them were walking slowly around the Three Graces as Derek spoke, "and it's obvious that you guys -" He nodded at Stiles and cocked his head to where he guessed Lydia and Allison were, "- come along as a nice little package." Stiles' stomach was doing back flips, he didn't know what to say, if he should go down the emotional route or if he should try and lighten it up with some humour – Derek was just so damn confusing. One minute he was shouting at Stiles, the next he was opening up to him about his insecurities and holding his hand at night.

"You don't have to be The Bachelor of the group," Stiles flinched at 'bachelor' hoping it didn't seem like some kind of come on, Derek's emotional breakthrough really wasn't the time, "you might be the Alpha but you don't have to try and take care of everyone all the time."

"That's what an Alpha does." Derek looked stoically ahead.

"Yeah, and I kind of like you taking care of us," A flush coloured Stiles' cheeks, "but, you know, let loose every once in a while, like at the club." Stiles screwed up his eyes as he added, "and like in Point Reyes." He just decided to mention it; he knew he wasn't 'supposed' too, it was an unspoken agreement between everyone on the trip that they wouldn't mention Point Reyes, when they had opened the tent and found Stiles and Derek in each others arms, but he wanted to know what the man was thinking! He knew it was a mistake when Derek's head turned so sharply Stiles thought his neck might snap.

He gave Stiles a long, lingering look and one of those smiles that doesn't really touch the eyes before he started walking back onto the trail, leaving Stiles feeling like the worlds biggest idiot. "Stiles," His feet shuffled awkwardly in the ground as he turned around, "thanks. I really do appreciate it, I just – you know."

"Yeah, you're heart froze over again." Stiles gave him a weak smile, following a dozen paces behind.


	12. Do You Know The Way To San Jose

_'I do not like Derek Hale, I do not like Derek Hale...' _Stiles repeated over and over, eyes screwed up tightly, running his fingers through the leaves he was sat on. He couldn't be attracted to that sourwolf – the guy was an emotional basket case, wasn't he? - Stiles didn't know, didn't want to know, didn't want to care. He had ate his lunch away from everyone else under the pretext of being tired, he just needed some time to think, but two hours had passed and he was still running around in circles (figuratively of course!). Everyone kept coming over to try and get him to join in with the games they were playing; hide and seek; tag; touch football; but he declined every invitation as politely as he could, glad that they didn't pursue it.

He wasn't depressed or anything along those vague, blurred lines of psychology, he was simply trying to process everything. Searching around the forest, his eyes finally found Derek, a little away from all the others but still close enough that it seemed like he was joining in from time to time, looking godly with his hands resting on his muscular hips, legs apart, surveying the landscape from his very own podium of sulphuric rock. Stiles wasn't dumb enough (he was actually a very smart boy) to not realise there had to be _something _there for him to even be this wrapped up in his own head, but it was such a nuisance, such a difficult obstacle in the way of enjoying himself on _his _trip! With a resigned sigh he buried his thoughts deep inside the mess of his brain, locking them away to be revisited later.

"Dude, hurry up or we're leaving without you!" Scott shouted, jogging backwards, a huge grin plastered across his face. Stiles did a jog of his own as he tried to catch up, eventually ending up next to Allison, as far from Derek as he could get.

"You okay?" Allison asked softly, running a reassuring hand down Stiles' arm.

"Oh – yeah, sorry." Stiles gave her his best smile. He had almost used the excuse of just being tired, but it was his turn to drive and he didn't want to be relegated to a passenger seat, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, at least driving would give him something to do.

They wandered around the park for a few more hours, enjoying the trees, wildlife, odd rock formations, and all the other wonders Yosemite offered them. Derek and Scott clearly wanted to climb the trees in wolf form, but it was too dangerous with all the tourists around (one never knew who could be a hunter on vacation) and because they needed to get going to their next destination.

"Couldn't we just camp here for the night?" Scott complained as they neared the van.

"No way." Lydia widened her eyes and stared, as if trying to hypnotise Scott into submission, "I am _not _camping again so soon. Later on the trip, okay fine, I'll deal with it, but by this time tomorrow we'll be safely ensconced in a plush LA hotel. I'm not giving that up for the wilderness."

"You loved it! You wanted to come here the most out of all of us." Jackson said.

"Yes. For a few hours." Lydia replied calmly. "But now I'm ready to leave, and so is everyone else." She spoke for the rest of the group out of her own volition, ignoring the protests from Allison and Stiles that they didn't really mind camping here at all. Stiles would actually welcome it, he thought it could be a chance to get another spoon from Derek, but Lydia was having none of it.

"You're up, Stilinski!" Stiles caught they keys that sailed through the air, leaving Jackson's hand and landing safely in his own. A glare passed over Derek's face when he walked back to the side of the van after packing all the crap that the others had dumped around the back of the car for him to pack away, noticing that the couples had joined up again, wanting to be together for their long journey. Stiles whistled as if nothing was amiss when Derek joined him up front.

"Watch it!" Jackson shouted as Stiles almost reversed the van into a tree.

"It's fine! I can drive fine! Fine, fine fine... Stiles can drive fi-i-ine" Stiles sung along to his own lyrics, narrowly missing a sprinting deer that jumped in front of the car.

"I'm driving." Derek growled, holding onto the arm rests, ready to be plunged through the windscreen any second.

"Fine, fine, fine..." Derek began unbuckling his seat belt at Stiles' words. "No! I mean, that's just the song. I can drive fine, really, sit back!" Stiles used his forearm to ram Derek back into the seat, making sure the car didn't slow so he couldn't be unsuspectingly be dragged out by a creeping Scott or Jackson, who'd probably side with their Alpha.

"Everyone just shut up so we can get there!" Lydia screamed from the back before turning to _The Count of Monte Cristo _once more.

"I think we need to stop and get some Xanex for Lydia..." Stiles muttered under his breath as Derek chuckled beside him. Oakdale and Escalon were quickly left behind as they made their way to Interstate 5, talking amongst themselves as the car traversed the roads nestled between the criss cross pattern of farming plots, strangely clinical places to be growing natural produce.

"Holy shit" Jackson shouted from the back of the car, pointing to the Freeway they were headed for, a long line of cars snaking along like some sort of monstrous metal snake, horns blaring, angry drivers shaking their fists from open windows, helicopters circling some unknown sight further down. Stiles pulled the car over at the jammed police blockade a hundred or so yards ahead, rolling down the window as the bored looking cop came over.

"Sorry kids," Derek growled silently, but thankfully didn't turn his death-glare onto the cop, "there's been a major crash, interstate 5's gridlocked from here to Newman, you'd be better off going round and onto the 101."

"But that'll take hours!" Lydia screamed, looking up from her book on the inside of her purse.

"Suit yourselves if you wanna wait for a few hours till everything's cleared up. Just doing my job."

"Can't we go..." Derek fiddled around with the GPS, the English lady reeling off half a command before the route was changed, "... this way?" He adjusted it so the 99 was illuminated, their new route taking them through tens of tiny towns and onto to Los Angeles.

"Major roadworks underway. Continue for the next 300 yards before making a left. Estimated time till arrival – 8 hours." She changed the route herself, taking them through San Jose and onto the 101, factoring in the updated reports for the 5 and keeping them on the coast road all the way to Los Angles. Derek growled, knocking her from her holder as his fist connected with the side of the little black box.

"Jeez, calm down, she's just doing her job, aren't you Elizabeth?" Stiles caressed the side of his new English friend with tender fingers, gently placing her back in the holder. "Ignore that sour wolf, he's just having a bad cycle. That time of the month, you know."

"Shut up." Derek growled, staring straight ahead, breath a little ragged.

"It's just a few extra hours, calm down!" Stiles shouted back, anger flaring up.

"Shall we just get going? We're holding up traffic." Allison suggested helpfully, receiving a scowl from Derek for her trouble.

"In case you didn't know, we're on a _road trip_, we drive places. Get over it." Stiles huffed, hoping he didn't get a fist in his face as he started the engine again, putting his hand up in thanks to the officers as they were waved through the barricade. Everyone but Stiles fell into an uneasy nap as he drove them through Livermore and Dublin before turning onto the 680 and guiding the van through the seemingly endless expanse of connected cities and towns that had sprung up around the San Francisco Bay.

"_Do you know the way to San Jose..." _Stiles sang quietly, trying to make sure he didn't wake any of the sleeping passengers. He had almost woken Derek to change to the song so he could relive another cheesy fantasy, this time of listening to the Dionne Warwick classic while cruising towards actual San Jose city, but he'd worried more about his own safety if he woke a sleeping Derek than his safety if he crashed the van in distraction while trying to find the song. _"I've been away so long I may go wrong and lose my way..." _He continued as the dark, busy streets of the city passed him by, smiling broadly and gazing out at the lights. _"I've got lots of friends in San Jose..." _He wished they could stop and take a look around; so he boldly decided to stop at the next gas station so he could breath in some San Jose air. _"LA is a great big freeway, put a hundred down and buy a car." _Stiles snorted, "one hundred for a car, I wish."

"Dionne..." Derek said in a sleepy groan from beside him, the blanket falling a little as he shuffled around in his seat.

"Who's she, an ex lover?" Stiles asked in an amused whisper, cursing himself for being such a pussy when he felt the pangs of jealousy in his stomach.

"The singer, asshole." Derek muttered, slapping his dry lips together as his eyes opened, glad that it was dark, his arm rummaging around in the glove box for his now warm bottle of water. "Ugh!" He spat the water back into the bottle as he took a sip, his face screwing up in disgust.

"I'm stopping at the next gas station for something to eat, so you can get some more then." Stiles said cheerfully, still humming along to the music. Derek just grunted in response, he wanted to lecture Stiles about not having time to stop but his need for some water was too great to argue with him, Stiles would probably just talk him into submission anyway.

The busy gas station Stiles pulled up at allowed Derek – who was bossed around by Stiles, feeling very superior with his supply of drivers trump cards – to fill up the tank (he had an irrational fear about running out of gas, even though every few miles they came across a station) while Stiles roamed around inside, picking up gummy bears, jelly beans, oreos, and any other sweets he could get his hands on, as well as a gallon of water.

"This is what you got us for dinner?" Derek asked, shaking his head as he held up a pack of jelly snakes.

"Well you never asked for dinner, so no, this is what I got myself for dinner, thank you very much." Stiles snatched the snacks from Derek's hands, tearing open the pack and shoving 10 worms into his mouth at once.

"Pig." Derek laughed as he watched Stiles wolfing down the sweets, his head lolling against the worn leather head rest. Stiles looked across, the long body of one of the snakes hanging out of the corner of his mouth, catching Derek's eye. Neither of them looked away as they stared at each other for a while, Stiles breaking into a huge smile a few seconds before Derek gave a drawn out sigh. "Just drive, Stiles." He turned away and curled up under the blanket, leaving Stiles with a confused frown on his face – did the man get some sort of kick out of his mixed messages?!


	13. The Night Shift

_"Weeks turn into years how quick they pass..." _Stiles sung, having put the Dionne Warwick song on repeat as he continued the drive through San Jose. "I wish I had lots of friends in San Jose, Dionne, I really do." He mused absently as she sang. _"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah..." _The car swerved left and right as his hands spun the wheel back and forth after each 'woah', only realising what he was doing when a passing eighteen wheeler blared an angry horn at him, causing Scott to moan in sleepy anger just behind him. "Whoops." A giggle escaped his lips, soon muffled by the crunching of an oreo.

The bright lights and busy streets thinned out as an hour or so passed, the lyrics of _Do You Know The Way To San Jose _forever engrained into his mind after it had been on at least thirty times. Empty sweet wrappers littered the ground under his seat, Stiles absently wondering what Derek would do when he saw the mess he made, deciding to just kick them underneath and pretend he was never eating. As he turned off 'repeat' the next Dionne Warwick song on his iPod came quietly through the speakers, making Stiles giggle as he sung along.

_"The moment I wake up, before I put on my make up..." _He found himself thinking how irritating it must be to have to apply your face every morning and top it up throughout the day, one hand absently stroking his own, smooth skin. _"...while combing my hair now, and wondering what dress to wear now..." _As the song picked up tempo his voice rose, tightening his throat so the vibration caused by his deep (-ish!) voice was halted, the words coming out high and fast. _"...we never will part oh how I love you blah, blah, blah it always will be... please love me too... answer my prayers. Bu, bu, bu, bu, bu, bu, bu... da, da, da, da, du, du! I say a little prayer for you..." _He was laughing along as he sung, missing out lyrics, singing along even with the instrumentals, his fingers tapping on the wheel over and over.

"I'm going to rip out your throat." The car swerved to the left as Derek growled, head turned towards Stiles, eyes flashing an angry red. He absently wondered what it would be like to bite the skin on Stiles neck, he was hungry – not for food, but for sex.

"I actually had the lead part in the fourth grade musical," Stiles began after he had caught his breath, "you should be happy to be in the presence of such a star." A bark (a little different from Derek's bark – or should I say howl?) of laughter escaped his lips, finally getting the car back on track after his scare, not turning to the man next to him so he couldn't be frightened by the glare that he knew would be plastered across his handsome face. _Handsome?! _A palm came up gave himself a slap on the head as he ruined his own image of an ugly, wolfish Derek by remembering how good he looked normally.

"Shut up Stiles, ple-e-e-a-a-a-se!" Jackson groaned from the back seat, snuggling deeper into Lydia.

"Yeah. Shut. Up." If Stiles hadn't been driving Derek would have grabbed his collar and shoved him back with enough force to break the seat – he cursed himself as thoughts of straddling Stiles came into his mind – but instead he closed his eyes and tried to get _Do You Know The Way To San Jose _out of his head, which was playing on a loop, mixed with _Say A Little Prayer For You. _"I knew you liked crap music, but this..." Derek shook his head, trying to muster up the energy to lean over and change songs.

"Hey! Drivers trump card, Dionne's a great singer. My mom used to play her all the time." Stiles smiled at the memory of his mother.

"I don't want to be insensitive but don't play the dead mother card." Derek told him, feeling he could seen as his own mom wasn't around either.

"Fine, I'll play the drivers trump card instead. Ha!" Stiles turned to give him a quick grin, feeling superior. It didn't matter that Derek could snap his neck with hardly any effort, as long as he had those trump cards he'd be safe.

All the passengers had fallen into a bumpy and uneasy sleep by the time Stiles pulled over near King City to use the rest-room, picking up a few more bottles of water and a few more packs of sweets while he was there, as well as a KFC, greedily deciding not to offer anyone else some – if they asked he'd sweetly tell them he didn't want to disturb their sleep. Templeton, Santa Margarita, San Luis, and Santa Maria all passed by in a similar fashion to the rest of the journey, Stiles eyes drooping on a few particularly boring stretches of the 101, stopping off occasionally for coffee and soda to give him some energy, the only person who came with him being Allison, once, to use the bathroom and stretch her aching legs. By the time the streets of Santa Barbara were passing by the side of the 101 Stiles felt like cutting off his hands so he didn't have to drive any longer, especially as he couldn't even enjoy any interesting sights through the darkness that tried to fight with the lights lining the highway, pushing in slightly before it was thrown back, tempting Stiles into its comfortable embrace, inviting him to sleep. He wanted to crank up the music to give him some life, but every time he turned the dial even just a tiny bit to the right he would be snapped at by someone – usually Derek.

"You're all boring." He grumbled to himself, deciding the next time they were driving all night he would stay up with the driver, at least for a while, to give them something to _do_! He couldn't even enjoy the coastal view down the stretch of the 101 they were now on, looking out and seeing no beautiful blue waves or sunny cloudless skies, just an endless expanse of black, conjuring up images of cold and darkness, making Stiles shiver involuntarily; he pulled his maroon hoody round him a little tighter.

Sherman Oak's flew by on either side of the car before the van began its ascent into Los Angeles proper, hitting the affluent, celebrity laden suburb of Calabasas (he knew Sherman Oaks was officially part of the metropolitan area, but he recognised Calabasas from _Keeping Up With The Kardashians_, though he'd never tell anyone he sometimes watched a few episodes when his dad was at work) and making Stiles' heart beat faster with excitement.

"Morning you sleeping beauties, if you wanna see some of LA at night you better get up now, we'll be there in about half an hour." Stiles honked the horn, trying to jolt everyone from their naps, giving Derek a little shove.

"What _now_?!" Derek growled, shoving Stiles persistent hand off him.

"We're here! Woo-hoo!" Stiles yelled back, his voice louder than it had been all night as he continued tying to wake everyone, smiling as he saw all his friends but Lydia (she was oblivious with her wax earplugs in) begin to shuffle around, aching limbs trying and failing to find some space to stretch in, eyes opening to see the trees getting thicker as Stiles followed the English ladies command and got off the 101 onto the San Deigo Freeway.

The buildings thickened, skyscrapers visible everywhere they looked, lights that felt like hot gamma rays assaulting them after the extended period of darkness the five sets of eyes had enjoyed, helicopters whirring past every few minutes, cars honking impatiently as the van shuffled slowly through West Los Angeles, headed straight for their hotel in Santa Monica.


	14. Santa Monica

Stiles pushed himself deeper into Derek's chest, the pre dawn light illuminating a slice of their bodies as they connected under the sheets of the enormous, plush double bed in the Santa Monica hotel room. His hand grasped Derek's just a little tighter, the warmth of the older mans body caressing him, tempting him back into his deep sleep. Both of them grinned lazily through their own dreams, Derek's fingers softly stroking the flesh that covered Stiles' exposed hipbone, Stiles feeling Derek's hard arousal against his ass, surprised to find himself enjoying the feeling. Hours rolled by, the sun rising over the clean, wide streets outside, trying to force its way into the hotel room, the slice of light moving as the minutes ticked by, lighting up Derek's bare chest and the bone and muscles of Stiles' back before creeping its way to their faces, smiles still hovering on their lips.

"We have to stop waking up like this." Stiles muttered quietly, the light making him a little dizzy as his eyelids parted.

"Sh." Derek pressed his forehead a little harder onto the back of Stiles skull, feeling the close cut hair tickling his eyes, willing him to wake up. "What time is it?"

"Dunno." Stiles' phone was on the end table by the bed, but he didn't want to move, unable (or unwilling) to shift his position even slightly, not daring to risk losing the wonderful feeling of Derek's arm holding him close, draped over his stomach and holding him by his waist. Derek could hear an annoying vibration, but he kept his eyes closed, breathing in Stiles' scent, pushing himself further into him so his dick shifted position uncomfortably, finally angling itself upwards into the small of Stiles' back. The vibration continued, forcing to Derek to lean over in sync with Stiles as the boy next to him shifted position to reach for the culprit – his phone.

_'I hope you're up. We're leaving in an hour.' _Stiles read the text from Lydia through slightly blurry vision, rubbing sleep from the corner of his eyes so he could see well enough to reply, sending a quick text that informed her he was indeed awake.

"They're gonna leave in an hour." Stiles told Derek, wanting to turn and kiss him good morning.

"We can stay in bed." Derek replied, wanting to kiss Stiles neck.

"Uh uh." With many groans and moans Stiles managed to free himself from Derek's grasp, finding himself pulled back into the warmth of the thick white covers more than once, hands grasping at his arms and legs as he tried – though he didn't really want to – to escape. Scratching his stomach as he shuffled to the bathroom with a little of his sanity restored, Stiles wondered why he and Derek always seemed to end up together in the middle of the night, wondered if it was just an involuntary reaction that felt so nice neither of them cared, or if it meant something more. _Too deep a question for such an hour. _He laughed to himself, hopping under the hot spray of the shower.

"Come back to bed." Derek mumbled, hardly able to talk so early in the morning – despite the fact it was twelve in the afternoon – arms reaching out to find Stiles. Though he had now woken up, his mind was still unable to resist the flailing body of Derek, the sheet riding down as he rolled around the white expanse, more and more skin becoming exposed as he tried to tempt Stiles back into the comfortable sanctuary; pale flesh only marred by the black boxer shorts with the huge tent in the middle. Stiles giggled to himself as he jumped back in, the towel around his waist almost slipping off as Derek sighed appreciatively, wrapping his arms around Stiles once more.

* * *

"Where are they?" Lydia asked impatiently, tapping her heels on the floor of the lobby where they were all waiting for Derek and Stiles.

"I text him like ten minutes ago, they said they'd be down in five." Scott said, his eyes shifting to the elevators, hoping they would ping open and reveal the figures of his two friends.

"They're probably hooking up again." Jackson joked, six eyes swivelling onto him at once and glaring down his laughter.

"Derek was really moody in the car last night, don't mention that when they come down." Allison warned as she tied her hair up, hoping to get some colour on the back of her neck.

"Everyone was moody except freaking Stilinski, I kept waking up and hearing him singing and laughing to himself." Jackson shook his head, he knew the kid was weird but talking to yourself was going too far.

"You're crisis is over! The knight in shining armour has arrived!" Stiles grinned as he spoke, stepping off the elevator and doing a little dance over to the group. Derek walked behind him, looking grumpy. Stiles was still beaming from his and Derek's morning embrace, glad that he had gotten back in after a shower and it wasn't weird – the rules of the bed were being slightly rewritten. Derek was scowling because he had to leave the bed, had to leave the comfort of having his arms around Stiles, wondering what it would be like to have sex with him as his eyes follwed his dancing ass as Stiles shimmied towards his friends.

Lydia's purse connected with his chest, knocking Stiles backwards a little. "Finally! Come on you two love birds, lets go." Derek and Stiles had to stifle their laughter – she was kind of right. Once again, neither of them had mentioned it when they finally left the bed to get ready. The bed had a kiss and don't tell – or talk about it period – rule, and both boys obeyed that rule, just glad when they got back to the secret zone at night. The six of them took in the fresh, midday air as they pushed open the large, glass doors of their hotel and began strolling down Santa Monica Boulevard.

"We might see Audrina!" Lydia joked, no one but Stiles – who kept his mouth zipped, no one could know he sometimes watched _The Hills – _getting it as they passed Equinox Gym on their way to the beach.

"Dude, why are you wearing that?" Jackson fingered Derek's leather jacket. "It's like a hundred degrees." His hands gestured towards his own attire, another tight white vest with tiny navy blue shorts; Santa Monica did have a pretty good gay culture after all.

"Shut up Jackson." Allison said, giving him a playful shove as their feet connected with the sand, most everyone taking their shoes off so they could feel it between their toes.

"It's too hot!" Stiles yelped as he hopped across the burning yellow grains, trying to reach the water to soothe his toes. "You could have told me I was walking on hot coals!"

"It's not even hot!" Scott had to shout so Stiles could hear him from his position way off in the distance, putting his shoes back on as the tide came in to wet his feet every few seconds. Scott gave Allison a kiss on the back of her pale neck as they laid out towels and pulled books, iPods, bottles of water, sun cream, snacks, volleyballs and footballs out of the assortment of bags they had brought with them. Lydia had wrapped her Jackie Collins in the sleeve of _The Count of Monte Cristo_, feeling up for some light reading today, not caring if everyone thought she was a geek as long as they didn't think she read graphic romance novels. Stiles' t shirt soon came off, shoving it into his backpack and dumping it next to him as he tried to get his shoes back on, the laces were all tangled up, distracting and irritating him so much that the girl who was trying to talk to him had to give him a shove to get his attention.

"Huh?" He asked as he looked up, mouth dropping as he took in the California blonde, white teeth gleaming through perfect, full red lips, breasts swelling out of the tiny red bikini.

"Wanna play? We need another guy on our team." Her red painted nails pointed towards the group of picture perfect beach teens, all tall, tanned and perfectly proportioned, white teeth gleaming as they smiled as motioned for Stiles to join them.

"Volleyball?" Stiles asked, the words coming out in a choked voice. He cleared his throat, blushing.

"Totally." The girl sauntered off to join her friends, knowing by the way Stiles looked at her that he would be coming, glancing over her shoulder to throw him a huge smile.

"I'm playing volleyball." Stiles told his friends as he dumped the bag and ran off to the net, trying to just grin and bear the pain his feet were in.

"How does _Stiles _get invited to play and not me?" Jackson's brow furrowed as he looked over, eyeing the teens perfect bodies appreciatively before looking down to examine his own muscles.

"Because Stiles is nice." Allison told him lazily, lounging on her stomach as Scott rubbed sun cream into her back.

"Yeah, but I'm nicer looking." Jackson pouted, sticking out his bottom lip, his eyes narrowing.

"You're conceited and arrogant – people don't like that." Derek told him with a raised eyebrow, rubbing cream onto his bare chest.

"Everyone likes that." Jackson replied with a grin, throwing a wave to two pretty girls sunning themselves, who waved back eagerly. "See?"

"Asshole." Derek laughed to himself, watching Jackson jog slowly down the beach on his way for a swim. He finished applying his cream, lathering his legs, arms, chest and face with the white stuff, missing his back because he couldn't reach, not bothering to ask someone to do it for him, he was laying on it anyway. He had planned on just closing his eyes and relaxing, trying to block out the irritating sounds of the other beach-goers and maybe dropping off for a while, hopefully getting a tan, but he found himself instead watching Stiles as he jumped up and down like an idiot trying to keep up with the game of volleyball – Derek still didn't get how that one had happened – he got gotten himself embroiled in. He couldn't hear what they were saying – he could of if he'd used his heightened senses, but it felt kind of rude to eavesdrop – but he could see they were laughing and joking around with each other, eventually breaking up the game and going for a swim, almost out of Derek's vision as they got further and further out, diving under the water and splashing each other. Derek found himself thinking how upset he'd be if Stiles got eaten by a shark, drawing strange glances from Scott and Allison when he started laughing to himself; it sounded like something Stiles would say.

* * *

"You sure you wanna challenge me? You won't be happy when you lose." Stiles grinned as he asked the young guy – who was around his age – with an even better body than Jackson after he challenged him to a race.

"To that buoy?" He grinned back, legs grazing against Stiles' under the water.

"Okay, now no cheating. Go!" Stiles spat out the word and before the guy could register it Stiles was off, sailing easily through the beautiful calm, blue waters. He only glanced back once, noticing the huge grin of his opponent just a few feet behind him, increasing his own pace to make sure he won, his breaths getting heavier after he had been swimming for a while.

"You cheated!" He laughed, his arms touching Stiles' as he supported himself on the buoy, breath equally as heavy, spluttering out some salt water. "Wanna come to a party tonight?"

"Huh?" Stiles asked through mouthfuls of the sea, a little thrown off.

"A party. Clara's –" he motioned to the smiling blonde head of the girl who invited Stiles to play "– place."

"Well yeah!" Stiles beamed, another fantasy of being invited to parties by strangers while on his road trip coming true, "but I might need to claim my prize for winning this race and request five extra passes." Stiles bared his lower teeth before pressing his lips together, hoping he wasn't being too presumptuous.

"Uh, I'll have to ask her but I bet she'll say yeah, she'll be so wasted so won't care what happens. So will I." He gave Stiles a wink, leaving him with his mouth hanging open as he swam back to his friends.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Stiles gave Scott a kick to wake him up as he approached the group, dripping water onto Jackson, who kicked him away. "Party. Tonight!"

"Party?!" Jackson grabbed the leg he had just kicked away as his interest perked up.

"Uh huh, they invited me." He waved back to the group of California teens, who were all packing their stuff away.

"I dunno..." Derek grumbled, unsure if it would be safe. Jackson and Scott could protect themselves, but he wasn't really feeling up to watching over a drunken Stiles, Lydia, and Allison.

"Come on!" Jackson and Stiles shouted to him at the same time, giving each other a grin.

"Well I'll go. I'm going to get even drunker than I was in San Francisco." Lydia giggled, putting down _Anna Karenina _(she had finished her Jackie Collins in three hours).

"Three votes yes! Come on, Allison?" Stiles gave her his best puppy dog eyes, Jackson flexed his biceps at her, and Lydia tried to stare her down, all three of them waiting with baited breath for her answer.

"Shall I wear my catsuit?" They of them beamed at each other in glee as she giggled, ignoring the groans from Scott and Derek.


	15. The Valley

They spent the rest of the day on the beach, all of them just wanting to relax under the sun after the awful cramps and aches they had to endure on the long ride to the city, not wanting to rush anything, just wanting to have a day of chilling out. Derek managed to scare off the group who had replaced Stiles' new friends on the volleyball net, claiming it for themselves. Scott, Derek, and Jackson slaughtered Stiles, Lydia, and Allison, who all complained that it wasn't fair – they did have heightened senses after all. Teams switched around as they day progressed, sometimes letting other groups play while they relaxed on their towels listening to music or talking and joking amongst themselves, often just playing two vs two while a couple of them were off swimming, usually Scott and Stiles, who raced other other to the buoys over and over, with Jackson or Allison sometimes joining them for a match.

Stiles flushed when he was glancing through the pictures – he must have taken hundreds just that day – and found one of him rubbing cream into Derek's back, legs apart on either side of him, his expression full of desire. That one definitely wasn't going on Facebook. They took a lazy stroll back after a few hours, stopping off for dinner at an outside café where a gleeful Jackson was asked if he'd ever considered modelling.

"You'd probably have to go through the casting couch." Stiles joked through a mouthful of steak, rubbing his arm – he was sure it would be covered with hundreds of bruises by the end of the trip – after getting a punch from Jackson for his suggestion.

"The casting couch is an open secret in Los Angeles." Lydia, who had acquired a golden tan via the very expensive creams she had brought with her to increase tanning and reduce burning (believe me, it's not just sun cream), told them, playing with her salad. "People will do almost anything to be famous, a little sex isn't out of the question."

"Well I'm not putting out for anyone but Lydia." He smiled across at his girlfriend, who gave him a weak smile back.

"Whatever, I'd probably do it if I got to be in a movie." Stiles said with a shrug, frowning as Derek glared at him.

"You'd be trapped in a cycle with whoever got you the job – they'd get rid of you if you didn't have sex with them again." Derek said.

"It's not like I'm having sex with anyone else, might be a good deal for both of us." Stiles snorted into his margarita, remembering Derek's dick pressing into him this morning and wondering what could have happened.

* * *

"How do I look?" Stiles asked Derek as he came out of the bathroom.

"Like every other day." He replied from his position lazing around on the bed, having had to comment on every different t shirt Stiles tried on.

"Really?" He frowned, looking down at the jeans and plain white t shirt with a plaid shirt undone over the top.

"Good though." Derek shrugged, picking up the plastic cup and taking a sip of the cheap wine he had gone out and bought, leaving two bottles in each room.

"That's sweet, thanks hun." Stiles joked, a sarcastic smile on his face as he glanced over at Derek in the mirror, trying to do something with his hair but failing – there wasn't much to do with a crew cut. Derek watched him, transfixed, wanting to inviting him to come to bed with him but still following the rules of the bed, though maybe there was a loophole if one of them was on it?

"Shut up." Derek grinned, hopping off with a resigned sigh and following Stiles down the hall to Lydia and Jackson's room, making sure he had two keys in case he lost one. Stiles didn't even check if he had one.

"Finally! You know, we all support you're little relationship, but can you try and hurry it up?" Jackson laughed, already a bottle of wine and two glasses of Lydia's (who had snuck off on her own and bought a bottle of vodka) deep.

"Fuck off Jackson." Derek snarled, giving him a shove. This is why he hated people being drunk – they blurted out things that were meant to get kept inside.

"Who's ready to _party_!?" Allison screamed as she opened the door, a glass of wine in one hand an an almost empty bottle in the other. Scott shuffled in behind her, looking dejected – he had wanted to stay in and have a romantic night with his girlfriend, not thrilled about going to The Valley for a house party full of total strangers. They all finished their wine – Stiles and Allison already a little tipsy by the time they left – the four boys lounging on the bed as Allison and Lydia did their make-up, Jackson joining them now and then to fix his hair to much mocking from the rest of the group. Two taxis came at eight (Stiles' swimming friend had text him and gave him the address) to take their very loud and raucous fares (one had Stiles while another had Allison) over to the San Fernando Valley.

* * *

"Hey!" Stiles shouted, embracing Clara – the girl from the beach – as they walked into the packed party. Music was blaring from an enormous stereo in the living room, tonnes of teens were littered around the room drinking and dancing, and a huge table laden with beers and spirits was visible through the open door to the kitchen.

"You came! I never told you that I'm Ben, by the way." Stiles' swimming opponent and (in his drunken state) new best friend embraced Stiles once he had disentangled himself from a very excited Lydia, who ran straight for where the dancing was going on.

"Thanks for inviting us." Stiles gazed around happily, a lopsided grin on his face. He was excited to be at a house party, it wasn't like it was anything he hadn't experienced before, but the fact it was an almost-strangers party in Los Angeles made it amazing to him.

"Wanna dance?" Ben grabbed Stiles and Jackson's hands at the same time, pulling them to where Lydia was popping her hips from side to side in the midst of forty-or-so other teens. Music changed from disco to rap to rock as they danced, Allison joining a few minutes later, leaving Derek and Scott to sit on a sofa and talk amongst themselves as everyone else danced and laughed with the music.

"I love this!" Ben shouted in Stiles' ear as _Teach Me How To Dougie _came on and the room became somewhat synchronised as everyone started doing the dougie. Stiles laughed, looking at Ben with his eyebrows raised when he saw his genuinely confused expression.

"Not ironically?" Stiles snorted – he could listen to songs like this as a joke, but knowing Ben liked it seriously was too funny to him.

"Teach _me_!" Jackson shouted, grabbing Ben's arm and trying to follow his movements, winding down to the ground with shaky, drunken legs, one of his arms connecting with the back of a poor party-goers head.

Stiles struggled through the crowd, stumbling a little as he walked – he was on his fifth beer and second shot – towards Derek and Scott.

"Hey buddy." Stiles squeezed in between Scott and an unknown girl, draping his arm over his shoulder and breathing the smell of booze all over him. "You okay? You're a great friend, you know. Sometimes you're kind of dumb, but I love you." Stiles gave Scott a wet kiss on the side of his head, jumping up and returning a few minutes later with a tray of tequila shots.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Scott tried to push the little yellow plastic shot glass away, finally grabbing it just so Stiles would stop dripping tequila on his pants.

"Come on!" Stiles implored, gagging as he took a third shot, forcing one into Derek's hands.

"Fine." Derek growled, doing four shots in succession as Stiles and two strangers cheered him on. Scott, not wanting to be outdone, did five shots, holding his throat and making loud choking noises as he finished the fifth.

"You guys deserve this." Ben stumbled over, depositing an almost full bottle of tequila in Scott's arms before flopping down next to Stiles, pushing his thigh against him.

"Oh, we really do! That was awful!" Scott said, still trying to clear his burning throat.

"Come on Derek, bet you can't do another five." Stiles said wickedly as he poured five for himself, laying them out on the messy coffee table in front of him.

"Don't make a bet you can't win, Stiles." Derek said smugly, still feeling pretty in control – he didn't realise the shots would kick in in the next few minutes. Stiles shot him a cocky grin, proceeding to down all five shots in a row, his throat on fire. Derek felt the same after he took his own shots, whacking his chest repeatedly to try and breakup the burn.

"I need air!" Stiles gasped, the sounds of _Sister Sledge _almost drowning out his voice.

"Come on." Derek pulled Stiles up by his collar, ignoring Ben's whines of protest, dragging him through the crowded kitchen and out into the back garden, where the smokers were hanging out.

"Can I have one of those?" Stiles giggled as he asked a pretty girl in a white polka dot dress for a Marlborough, ignoring Derek's frown. "Bluergh!" He spluttered as he sucked the smoke into his lungs, coughing violently at the mixture of nicotine and tequila.

"You're not the smoking type." Derek laughed, swaying a little on his feet, trying to reach out and grab the cigarette from Stiles' lips so he could throw it away but finding Stiles pulling back so he couldn't reach.

"I can be a bad boy too!" Stiles took another drag, screwing up his face and sticking out his tongue as the smoke snaked down to his lungs. Derek tried to ignore Stiles' very tempting lips, but the way he was puffing on the cigarette was obscene – he wished he could replace the thin white cylinder with something much bigger, snorting to himself at the thought.

"I feel –" Lydia began as she burst through the door to the garden, her mouth opening a second later and spewing horrible, yellow sick all over the grass. Jackson groaned as he followed her out, chasing her into a cluster of bushes to try and comfort her as Derek and Stiles shurgged at him – they didn't want sick on them. Stiles took in the party for a few minutes, a few teens passed out on the grass, another few (including Lydia) throwing up in the bushes, the rest just talking and dancing as they took repeated drags on their cigarettes. The tequila, beer, and wine were making him brave; he broke the rules of the bed.

"What happens?" Stiles asked, unable to stop grinning even when confronting his and Derek's little night time issue. Derek looked at him with parted lips, not really knowing what to say. He didn't much feel like talking about it, but he knew Stiles would be unlikely to bring it up again – unless he was drunk.

"I dunno, something." Derek said, sitting down on the grass so he wouldn't fall over.

"You like me." Stiles sung, dancing around Derek with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.

"Shut up." Derek tried to snarl, but his face involuntarily morphed into a smile, watching Stiles with blurry eyes as the boy ran in circles around him, his head thrown back in laughter.

"You wanna kiss me," Stiles came very close to Derek as he spoke, his breath tickling his ear – causing stirrings underneath his jeans - "and touch me," A snort escaped Stiles almost closed, smiling lips as he leaned in closer to Derek's ear, almost touching him, "and fuck me." The beer spilt onto the grass as he collapsed in embarrassed laughter to the ground, rolling around on the sharp, unnatural blades.

"Yeah, yeah, and yeah." Derek turned onto his stomach to face Stiles, who was laid on his back just behind Derek. "You really shouldn't get drunk. Or maybe you should, I dunno, it lets you stay stuff like that." His eyelids opened and closed as he tried to clear his vision, closing them on a stoic Stiles one minute and opening them to find Stiles' face hovering next his own the next.

"Get a room!" Someone shouted from the patio.

"We have one." Stiles whispered, his breathing heavy.

"We can't."

"Why?" Stiles moved in closer, till his lips were almost touching Derek's.

"Cos' we're drunk." Derek said, his finger tracing Stiles' lower lip.

"So? Alcohol just makes us say what we really think." Stiles turned his body and propped himself up on one elbow, watching the muscles shift under Derek's shirt as he did the same. They were both breathing heavily, mouths parted, looking at each other with wide eyes as they simultaneously wondered if they should make the first move. Stiles' hand was pressed against Derek's chest, Derek's hand burrowing between Stiles' thighs, just below his crotch.

"_GET INTO THE GROOVE! AT NIGHT I LOCK THE DOOR AND THROW AWAY THE KE-E-E-Y! TONIGHT I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEONE ELSE!" _They both turned to the source of the singing just as their lips were about to connect, distracted by Allison swinging over the porch, a drink in either hand, her bra on the outside of her top. "Oh no! I ruined it, didn't I?!" She groaned, her lower lip trembling in an overemotional, drunken moment.

"Yes!" They shouted back to her simultaneously.


	16. An Unlikely Three

"I'm _so _sorry!" Allison stumbled across the grass, losing a heel, so she could kneel down and apologise close up – not realising that was making it even harder for them to try and kiss again. "I know everyone thinks I'm too nice, and I shouldn't apologise so much, but I _really _am sorry!" Sobs racked her body as she rested her head on Stiles chest, Stiles and Derek's eyes connecting over the mess of her hair to exchange confused, amused glances – both at the state of Allison, and at what almost just happened.

"Don't worry." Stiles told her, stroking her hair to try and cheer her up.

"Someone else probably would have ruined it anyway." Derek grumbled, taking deep breaths as he tried to get his anger in check. Allison was a nice enough girl, he had no problems with her, but did she really have to ruin his and Stiles' moment? It was something straight from one of Stiles' fantasies, Derek knew how happy it would have made him – and knew how happy he could have made him with his talented tongue. Derek was an experienced kisser (among other things...) after all.

"I'm _sorry_ Derek!"

"Lay off." Stiles gave him a shove - a shove that had no hint of being playful and flirty like the ones they usually gave each other. He was starting to like Allison more and more; he had harboured some resentment when she first started going out with Scott, brining her hunter family down on the wolves and messing up their lives completely, but she was just so nice it was hard not to like her.

"Sorry for what?" Jackson asked, dumping himself down the grass next to them. "Lydia won't come out of the bushes. Anyone gonna help?" His words were slightly slurred, his eyes unfocused.

"I just ruined–" Derek silenced Allison's almost-revelation with a hand over her mouth, his eyes flashing red, he wouldn't have done it normally, but he needed to get through to her – even in a drunken state those red eyes zipped her mouth shut.

"I'd help – but I might vomit myself." Stiles giggled, Derek's desire to kiss him suddenly plummeting. Sick breath really wasn't his thing.

A few of the other guests turned to look at the commotion going on inside the kitchen, Stiles looking up with them, bursting into laughter when he saw Scott's anguished face through the glass.

"I have a girlfriend!" Scott was shouting, trying to get outside. The door wouldn't budge as he pulled unsuccessfully at the handle, a shadowy figure draped around his shoulders, hands pawing at Scott's body. "Get off!" they could hear raised voices inside, followed by a scream of protest as someone managed to pry the girl off him, a relieved Scott finally escaping into the garden a few seconds later when he realised the door needed pushing, not pulling. "I can't believe you left me!" He complained, standing over them, head cocked to the side, feeling judgemental.

"Just because you're not drunk it doesn't make you a saint." Stiles said, head lolling back onto the grass, bursts of laughter escaping his lips every few seconds as he thought about the almost kiss. He knew he should be in more of an emotional turmoil, but the alcohol was eliminating any rational fears and replacing them with lust.

"Yeah asshole." Derek agreed, swinging his leg out to connect with Scott's ankle, sending him tumbling to the ground with a dull thud and a yelp of pain.

"You guys are such morons!" He scowled as he got up, pushing Stiles, who was attempting to jump on top and start tickling him, forcefully away. "I'm going home." His lips had formed into a child-like pout, eyes narrowed in frustration at how uncaring he thought his friends were being. "Come on Allison." Her flailing, uncoordinated arm was grasped between Scott's fingers as he dragged her across the grass, black jeans slipping down and her white vest getting covered with mud.

"Scott! Scott!" She tried to push him off, but she was spinning all over as he pulled, unable to get a good grip on him.

"She doesn't have to." Derek growled – the words no less menacing despite being only half understandable, an unresponsive drunken tongue wouldn't stop the alpha.

"I wanna stay!" Allison complained, wishing she had a crossbow so she could shoot Scott off her.

"I should take Lydia." Jackson said with a sigh as he poured his drink onto the grass, putting the red plastic cup upside down over the top of his deposited beer before stumbling off to find Lydia and take her home with Scott.

"Scott..." Stiles began, face falling as he tried to get his best friend to look at him, "come on, stay, it's an LA party, when will we get to do this again?!"

"It's a dumb house party we could have in Beacon Hills – you're trip sucks." Scott gave him a scowl – ignoring the feelings of guilt that started rolling around in his stomach – turning on his heel and storming off, giving a lovestruck couple who were making out under the stars a surly kick. Stiles, Derek, and Allison shot each other a frown of their own as they watched Scott's retreating figure, stopping for a second to prop up Lydia – who was already being supported on one side by Jackson – before disappearing round the side of the house.

"So does your face!" Stiles shouted just in time, his head lolling against the grass in frustration when he realised what a dumb comeback he'd used.

"You're trip's awesome, Stiles." Allison said, her smile only making him feel slightly better.

"Scott's an asshole. The trips amazing." Derek ran a hand down Stiles' arm; he suddenly felt a thousand times better.

The three of them – a group none of them had thought would end up together at the start of the trip, it was more likely to be wolves VS humans – made their way on shaky legs back to the party, hiding the bottle of tequila in a linen closet for later, switching back to beer so they wouldn't pass out and miss all the fun. Whoever was picking the songs had eclectic taste, one minute the three of them were dancing to _Lil' Kim_, the next to _The Velvet Underground_, and the next to – Derek got very into it – _Bauhaus_. Allison screamed with laughter as she re-enacted the dance moves she had seen her characters on _The Sims _do, throwing her arms around, dancing almost as bad – but equally as funny – as Stiles was.

"You two are great, I love you guys!" Stiles shouted as the heavy bass of _Bella Lugosi's Dead _made his ears vibrate, leaving wet marks on their cheeks as he kissed them both, the huge grin his features had been stuck in for the past few hours making his cheeks ache. Derek was tempted to angle his head so the kiss landed on his lips instead, but he was having so much fun dancing with the two teens he didn't want anything to spoil it – a kiss was hardly spoiling things – but he had a feeling they wouldn't be wanting to do any dancing if their lips finally connected. The little garden scene was still fresh in his mind, as well as the very provocative observations by Stiles about what Derek wanted to do to him; his drunken haze allowed him to admit that they were all very, very true. Green eyes followed Stiles as the boy weaved through the mass of bodies, laughing and joking with total strangers; it wasn't love Derek was feeling – Stiles was cute and sweet (as well as irritating and difficult sometimes), sure, but right now his mind was wrapped up in what it would be like to get him naked, what would have happened this morning if his hand had trailed down from his stomach and burrowed under his boxers. He had a sneaking suspicion Stiles' wouldn't have had _any _problems with it.

The hours rolled by in a blur of merriment, no one at the party seemed to have any semblance of time, guests were still arriving by the time two in the morning came around, the three friends – who had developed an even deeper affinity for each other tonight – stopping to catch their breath, patting the backs of the new friends they had made on the dance floor (well, the centre of the living room _was _a makeshift dance floor of sorts) as they stumbled towards the kitchen to find some bread, pizza, or anything to soak up the alcohol sloshing around uncomfortably in their stomachs. Masses of party goers – many of whom were still hovering in the kitchen talking amongst themselves – had already devoured the eight pizzas that were bought an hour or so ago, empty boxes piled up on the beer soaked island, a couple lounging against the side of it, only stopping their make out session for a second as Stiles, Derek, and Allison started rooting around in the cupboards.

"I wonder if the cops will come break it up." Stiles mused through a chunk of cheese which he was biting straight from the half wrapped, yellow block of it that the had found in the fridge amongst the bottles. Derek had managed to find some cold chicken wrapped in foil inside the oven, greedily ripping chunks from the bone with his teeth, while Allison was struggling to open the plastic around a loaf of bread she had grabbed from a cupboard loaded with empty vodka bottles.

"That almost _never _happens, no ones ever home in this neighbourhood." A wiry guy with a shock of black hair told Stiles as he overheard their conversation, turning his head slightly to smile at them as he poured beer from the keg into a tea cup. "Haven't you been to one of Clara's parties? She has them like every week." He continued, giving Stiles, Allison, and Derek a once over; to him they seemed like normal teens, though maybe a little pale for LA.

"No, we're from Beacon Hills." Allison said happily as she wolfed down her third slice of bread.

"Northern California? Ew." Long, chestnut brown hair almost whipped Stiles across the face as a born and bred Los Angeles girl who had been eavesdropping swung around and left the kitchen.

"Oh nice, what are you doing here?" He laughed at the girls declaration that they weren't worth talking to before he asked.

"We're on a road trip – all around the country; oh yeah!" Stiles steadied himself on his leather clad shoulder, noticing how much cheaper the material felt compared to Derek's.

"That's cool, so you're out for some new experiences; see new stuff; get to know different people – that kind of thing?"

"Duh." Stiles giggled, moving over to support himself on Derek instead; he just felt much nicer – despite his own shaky legs.

"Well have you ever seen a down and out band living only on their last hopes of fame play a half empty show?" He asked with a self deprecating grin while downing the tea cup of beer and poured another.

"No – but I want to." Stiles nodded his head eagerly, excitement levels rising.

"We're playing at this little bar tomorrow night – total crap, but maybe there'll be a music scout there, they're always prowling the bars. Apparently." It was clear he had never stumbled across one of these scouts.

"No mythical scouts coming to pluck you from musical obscurity and lift you to the heights of fame?" Stiles joked, yelping when he felt Derek's hand on his ass. "Well we'll come," He nodded happily at Allison – who kept smiling and bobbing her head from left to right as some form of drunken nod, clearly she was excited too – and Derek – who looked indifferent to the whole thing, his hands more interested in exploring Stiles' lower back, fingers burrowing underneath the t shirt.

"You don't know what I could do to you." Derek mumbled into Stiles' ear as he explored, getting a desperate, lustful smile thrown to him from Stiles.

"Where is it?" Stiles had to clear his throat after he spoke, Derek's hands were making him very... distracted. "You don't know what I want you to do." Stiles said in an undertone to Derek, desperate to get back to the hotel room, his mind spinning as he tried to formulate a drunken sex plan – maybe he should just ask, Derek clearly wouldn't need much persuasion.

"Okay, here -" He held out his palm for Stiles' phone, typing his number in and saving it as 'Lionel'. "Call me tomorrow and I'll tell you what time and all that."

"Lionel?" Stiles snorted. "I thought you were more of a Jack or a Tyler or something, you know, one of those smart-guys-who-love-rock-n-roll kind of names." Lionel just shrugged at Stiles joke about his name, throwing him a grin.

"See you tomorrow." He grabbed his girlfriend – who had been stood behind him looking bored, playing with her long blonde hair – by the waist, and headed towards the garden for a cigarette.

"Let's not invite Scott." Allison said nastily, still annoyed at him for trying to drag her home; she didn't care if he left – well, she would have preferred him to stay – but she was her own person, could make her own decisions. She didn't need someone bossing her around, she got enough of it from her father. "I really am sorry you know – you two deserve someone." Her expression was soft, serene even, as she gazed up at Derek and Stiles, hoping they would get together so they weren't both alone any more. She knew Derek thought he was being sneaky and that no one could see his hand up Stiles' shirt, but she could see it clearly – she could see they liked each other; when they were drunk or separated from the rest of the group a little the two of them just fell into a form of easy companionship; she would have thought it was friendship if it wasn't for the obvious signs of lust that were going on.

"Shut up." Derek grinned, in no mood for a drunken heart to heart, jabbing playfully at her ribs instead. She managed to her her hands under his arms, trying to beat him at his own game, both of them laughing as their opponent got in a good tickle, Derek laughing most – especially when Stiles teamed up with Allison and got behind him, a double whammy of tickling. They soon fell to the kitchen floor, unable to stay standing through the heaving laughter coming from the three of them, trying to connect with any sensitive spots they could reach, all laughing raucously with enormous grins covering their faces.


	17. Release

Music – turned down by one of the party goers before they passed out – could still be faintly heard drifting slowly from the huge speakers, covering the mess of hungover, sleeping bodies that littered the floor of the living room. Stiles was crammed in between Derek – whose arm was around Stiles' waist yet again – and a black haired stranger, a plastic cup underneath him digging painfully into his ribs.

"Stiles." He slowly opened his eyes to find Allison's bloodshot ones staring back at him, hair put up into a hasty ponytail, looking a little worse for wear. "We should go, it's almost ten, Scott's been texting me." She pretended that she couldn't hear the wanting moans that escaped Stiles and Derek's lips as they got up, their hands all over each other, wanting to lay back down in each others arms. Derek – who had hoped for a bed last night so he and Stiles could do something more than snuggling – draped an arm over a surprised Allison's shoulder, throwing her a grin.

"Last night was good..." He mused, still a tiny bit drunk.

"I should have text Scott to tell him we weren't coming back." She felt slightly guilty about it, but when she remembered how Scott had tried to order her around the feelings were quickly masked with anger.

"Why was he such a jerk?" Stiles mumbled, putting on a pair of sunglasses he had found abandoned in the living room – he felt his need to cover his eyes from the evil sun was greater than whoever they belonged toos want for fashion.

"He wanted to stay in and be all romantic," Allison snorted, threading her ponytail through the back of the hot pink cap she had stolen, "it's sweet and stuff, but I want to have _fun_! We're on the trip of a lifetime." Her hand squeezed Stiles' arm, letting him know she felt Scott's accusation (that Stiles trip sucked) was inaccurate.

"Where the hell are we?" Derek asked , looking up and down the suburban street full of detached houses surrounded by masses of trees. Stiles and Allison both shrugged in response, all keeping their eyes peeled for street signs as they ambled slowly down the pavement, calling a cab when they finally got their bearings on the corner of Fulton and Sylvan. Heavy traffic meant it was almost eleven by the time they walked back into their hotel, practically running down the hallway so they could get a shower; they needed to wash off the smell of booze and cigarettes.

"I'm going first." Stiles shoved Derek out of the way, grinning as Derek did the same back to him, both of them trying to get into the shower first.

"You're wearing more clothes – you're gonna loose." Derek informed him, wrapping his hands around his waist so he could pick him up, Stiles' limbs flying everywhere as Derek spun him around so he was winning.

"No fair!" Stiles tripped over his own feet as he ran up behind Derek, jumping up and wrapping his legs around his waist from behind, hoping to make Derek tumble over. Derek stumbled, but didn't fall, yelping as Stiles covered his eyes. Hands closed over Stiles thighs, strong thumbs pressing into the denim of his jeans, massaging the skin beneath, his fingers slowly stroking back and forth. A grin spread across Derek's face when he felt Stiles crotch growing against his back. Stiles – who had been about to jump off – stayed exactly where he was, his breath increasing as Derek's hands slowly made their way up the side of each thigh, squeezing when they reached their destination – his ass. They both knew they wanted to get naked and get into bed, letting any doubts about how they didn't really know what they _were _to each other disappearing, minds clouded with lust as their bodies connected.

"Are you drunk?" Stiles giggled, tightening the grip his thighs had on Derek's waist, his pelvis shifting as he ground his crotch a little, breath quickening for a second as his dick jumped with pleasure. Derek's fingers grazed against Stiles' boxers, easily accessible as his jeans had slipped slightly when he jumped, his breath coming deeper as he felt stirrings beneath his jeans which grew as Stiles moaned involuntarily, biting his lip as he rested his head on Derek's shoulder; he wanted to bit the skin beneath the t shirt, but he didn't dare.

"Why don't we shower... later?" Derek asked through his heavy breaths, still continuing down the hall to their room, though at a much slower pace – the hard reminder of how horny Stiles was could be pretty distracting.

"Or together?" Stiles couldn't take it any more, he was so horny he thought he might explode. The little romantic tryst they had been engaging in over the past few days was too much for both of them, seeing everyone else pairing off to their rooms to do _a lot _more than snuggling – they needed it too. Derek fumbled with the key, Stiles still wrapped around him, his very distracting legs squeezing him for a second before they released, then squeezed again, and again, and again, driving Derek nuts. Stiles knew that they shouldn't, that sex was important emotionally as well as physically, but he just couldn't help himself - Derek was so god damn hot that it was impossible to think clearly.

"How did this happen?" Derek wondered out loud, turning away from the bed so Stiles could flop onto it, not even giving him a second before his hard body was on top of him, his own dick begging to be released as their crotches rubbed together. Stiles' hands were under Derek's shirt, caressing his waist and lower back with slightly shaky but very persistent touches, wondering why he had ever fantasised about Lyida's soft curves when Derek's hard muscle felt _so good_. Derek nuzzled his head into Stiles neck, smelling that unique scent, tasting his skin as his lips touched the flesh, grinning at the groan that came out of Stiles.

"I'm going crazy." Stiles said breathlessly, his hand roaming further and further up Derek's shirt until his fingers were grazing his nipples while his thumbs made circles in his back. He arched his back, biting his lip to stop from crying out when Derek's teeth dug into the skin on his shoulders, gasping as Derek's fingers popped the button of his jeans and dragged them down before he started on his own, his lips tracing the skin from his shoulder, across his collarbone, and onto his neck, tongue darting out to lick his adam's apple as he made his way up, planting another kiss on his chin before his lips were on Stiles'. He bit down a little too hard when he felt Derek's arousal escaping its prison, rubbing against his own, hands on either side of his head as they continued their kissing, full of colliding tongues and lips getting bruised as they sucked and bit at each other, heavy breaths coming from both of them.

"Do you want to?" Derek asked, taking his lips off Stiles' for a second as they both struggled out of their t shirts, grinning appreciatively at the sight of each others naked torsos.

"Do you have a condom?" Stiles asked, kicking his jeans off and grabbing Derek by his ass, pushing Derek's dick back onto his own, moving his body up and down so they could both feel the amazing friction as their dicks rubbed together. He groaned as Derek got up, kissing Stiles' nipple before he moved to the suitcase and started rummaging around, returning a few seconds later with a foil packet in his hand. Their lips were back on each others as soon as Derek hit the bed, both of them going crazy for a release, Stiles' hands fumbling around on Derek's hips. Derek wanted to tell Stiles all about what having sex might mean, how it was an important decision that shouldn't be taken lightly, but he was too freaking horny to worry about any of it, kissing his way down Stiles' body instead, licking the head of his cock just once before he sat up, pinching the top of the condom and slipping it on. He spat on his hand – having no lube meant he had to use the next best thing – before laying on top of Stiles again, picking his legs up by the back of his knees, glad the boy was athletic and wouldn't get a cramp as he rested them on either side of him and kissed him again, his fingers purposely tracing the skin slowly, finally reaching their destination, making slow, drawn out circles around the extremely tight hole.

"Come on." Stiles said impatiently, kissing his way across Derek's neck, leaving little red spots as he bit down, not caring that everyone would know what they had been up to. Sexual desire may have been clouding his judgement, but he could never remember wanting anything so much in his life, his entire body twitching with pleasure as Derek slipped one finger inside of him, the other hand pumping his dick slowly, his thumb rubbing the extremely sensitive spot where his foreskin merged with the pink head, almost sending Stiles over the edge.

"Another." Derek whispered, snarling as Stiles moaned and writhed around in pleasure.

"I'm dying." Stiles groaned as Derek slipped a third digit inside him. Stiles' hands were gripping forcefully onto Derek's back, never realising until right now how amazing something in could feel in his ass.

"You're so fucking tight." Derek moaned appreciatively as his fingers left Stiles and he lined up his cock, moaning as pleasure coursed through his body when the engorged head slipped inside.

"Oh my fucking shit, fuck, fuck, fuck." Stiles had never imagined feeling something so incredible in his entire life, his hands grabbing Derek's firm ass and pushing him in further.

"Oh fuck." Derek kissed Stiles ferociously as he got further and further in, grinning as he hit Stiles' prostate, eliciting a moan of the likes he had never heard – Stiles was much more vocal than his previous partners.

"Oh my fu – are you kidding me, shit, Derek." Stiles eyes were rolling into the back of his head as Derek began pulling out, thrusting back in just as he was threatening to leave, his body pressing down on Stiles' as he hit that sweet spot again, rolling his hips so it was stimulated over and over again, the motions of his hand of Stiles' dick increasing as his pace got faster and faster.

"Harder, oh shit Derek." Stiles dragged his nails across Derek's back as he plunged into him as deep as he could, a long, low groan coming from Stiles before he noisily sucked in as much air as he could get through his wide open mouth, another moan going out. Stiles didn't want slow, passionate love, he wanted Derek to do him hard, _needed _him to. His hands traced unintelligible patterns along his back and ass as Derek thrust into him again and again, faster and harder each time. "I'm gonna fucking blow -" Stiles managed to mutter, squeezing his sphincter every time Derek plunged into him, driving the man crazy.

"Wait." Derek moaned, kissing Stiles all over his lips, neck, shoulders and chest, angry red skin coming forth once his lips left. He was kissing Stiles' like he had never kissed anyone before, the kid wasn't afraid of getting hurt and he loved it, loved how his lithe body felt under his fingers, loved the way he clenched his hole around Derek's cock, driving him over the edge with a loud moan, his hand picking up tempo till it was a blur, not letting go as white began shooting out, coating both their chests as Derek simultaneously filled the condom, still unwilling to stop, loud, deep groans of pleasure coming from both of them to fill the room.

"Oh fuck." Stiles mumbled, his body twitching with aftershocks every time Derek ran his fingers along the underside of the sensitive head, his dick still buried inside him. Stiles moaned as it finally left, clenching his sphincter again, wanting Derek back. Derek pulled the condom off, throwing it into the bin, not willing to get up and stop touching Stiles, hands now rubbing his arms. Stiles felt strangely empty – and not in an emotional way – missing the amazing, full feeling he had just experienced, wondering why it had taken him so long to get together with Derek – if he knew how good it was he would have pulled him down to the sand at Point Reyes and done it then and there.

"That was -"

"- I know." Stiles gripped Derek's waist a little tighter, feeling the full weight of him pressed against his body, lazily kissing his lips and neck as their spent bodies plunged them both into deep, blissful sleeps.


	18. Hollywood

Stiles cursed modern technology as the sound of his phone ringing woke him up. Derek was still sprawled out on top of him, groaning as Stiles slipped out from under him, shooting an appreciative glance at his ass while he fished his phone from the pocket of his jeans. He had seven missed calls and thirteen messages, the first few from Scott, asking how long they would be, the next few from Jackson threatening to leave them behind, the final ones from Lydia, succinctly informing him they weren't waiting around any longer.

"They've left." Stiles told Derek as he jumped back onto the bed, phone still in his hand, laying his chest on Derek's back, his dick growing in between Derek's cheeks.

"Good." Derek grumbled, surprised to find he loved the feeling or Stiles' arousal pressing against his ass, pushing back a little so Stiles rubbed against him more and more.

"We should go meet them, they're looking around Hollywood." Stiles kissed Derek's neck slowly, wondering what the rules of the bed were now they had taken the next step – actually, they had skipped every step in between and went right to the best part, but who was counting?

"No, we're staying here." Derek's hands grabbed the back of Stiles' thighs, stroking up and down as Stiles' hands burrowed underneath Derek, gripping his hardness and grinning.

"We still need a shower." Stiles used all his willpower to pull himself away, hoping Derek would follow so he wasn't left feeling like an idiot as he padded to the bathroom.

"I'm up!" Derek yelled, wide eyed, jumping from the bed and following Stiles, who was already under the hot stream of water by the time he got into the bathroom.

"Are you coming in or what?" Stiles asked, turning around so every inch of him was visible to the older man. He felt no pangs of embarrassment, no will to cover himself up – how could he? Derek ran his hands over Stiles' body luxuriously as he stepped under the water, wanting to memorise every inch of him.

"Steady." Derek grinned, his hand closing around Stiles' dick, tilting his head to the side as they began kissing again. Stiles' own hand was tracing Derek's pecs, fingers slowly running through the delve between his abs as he moved down, tracing the hair leading to his belly button before taking hold of his member, surprised at how it felt; soft and hard at the same time, surprised at how _good _it felt to hold it, he had never imagined anything like it. Stiles dropped to his knees in front of Derek, eyes widening as what was in his hand a few seconds earlier entered his mouth; he didn't know what to expect, all he knew was he liked it.

Any deep, probing emotions were buried under lust as the two went down on each other under the hot spray of the shower, neither of them even thinking about what it meant.

* * *

"Hollywood!" Jackson sang, grinning as his arm extended straight into the air in a very camp fashion, mimicking 'Hollywood Montrose' from _Mannequin_ as he posed with the famous sign in the background.

"Perfect!" Allison giggled, showing Jackson the picture, gazing over at the huge letters on the distant hill as they strolled down Hollywood Boulevard.

"I wonder where Stiles and Derek are..." Scott said nervously, desperate to apologise to his friend for what he said last night, blaming himself for Stiles' absence today.

"Dude, they're probably busy hooking up again. I wonder how many times they've done it." Jackson mused with a shout of laughter as they walked over Harrison Ford on the Hollywood walk of fame.

"Shut up!" Scott shoved him a little, "They aren't hooking up – Stiles would have told me if he was with Derek."

"Maybe not after last night." Allison interrupted, still a little annoyed at Scott.

"I didn't mean it, okay?! Can you just lay off." His shoes scuffed the ground as he kicked out, not understanding why Allison was still upset.

"It's a logical decision – they are the only people here who aren't a couple." Lydia said, looking up at the sights around her with a smirk on her face – she thought they were kind of tacky.

"Will you all just shut up?!" Allison raised her voice a little, storming a few paces ahead.

The others exchanged a glance between themselves, confused expressions plastered across all their faces. "What do you know that we don't?" Jackson asked with narrowed eyes as he jogged to catch up with her, trying to turn her head towards him but getting an angry slap to the side of his face.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Allison ran her palm over the red flush that was emerging on his cheek, feeling awful.

"Jesus, watch it!" Jackson gasped when he saw his face in the inverted camera of his phone, considering going home for a second before he realised it would soon calm itself.

"She knows something?" Lydia asked as she caught up, suddenly very interested.

"You know something?" Scott's voice was added as they all pressed her to tell them what she knew.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She shouted, trying to block out their questions. "It's nothing – not my place, I don't know. Just shut up."

"You have to tell us now!" Jackson said, trying to keep up with her furious pace.

"Tell us!" Scott jumped in front her her, grabbing her arms as she tried to step out of his way.

"Tell us!" Lydia screamed, drawing confused glances from passers by as she joined in with Jackson and Scott, her voice louder than anyone elses – she hated being left out of the loop.

"I don't know! They're kind of like, uh, like they seem like they're together or something – I don't know." Allison sat down on a bench, hands in her head. "Well not together, you know, but they woke up snuggling again last night and then yesterday at the party I came outside and they were -"

"What?!" Three voices assaulted her ears at once. Allison felt awful as she began cracking under pressure, she couldn't take it – she wanted to tell someone so she could bounce around ideas with them; she really did want to see Stiles and Derek become a couple.

"They were almost kissing! I think I ruined the moment so I dunno, I guess they're having that moment now – or maybe they just slept in!? Just don't say_ anything_! Okay?"

"I knew it!" Jackson said gleefully, rubbing his palms together at how many jokes he could get out of Stilinski and Derek being together.

"You must have got it wrong, Allison." Scott looked confused.

"I think we all saw them in Point Reyes – we're not wrong." Lydia informed him with a wave of her hand and a sigh; Scott could be so dense sometimes.

"You don't understand, Stiles is my _best _friend – he would have told me!" Scott protested, shooting Lydia an annoyed glance.

"Well not if it just happened! Besides, you and him haven't had any alone time because you're always with Allison." Scott's face fell as Lydia pointed the facts out to him.

"Well I'm just gonna ask him when he gets here." The four teens exchanged a worried glance before they squeezed onto the bench beside Allison and began trying to decide the best way to broach the subject without getting their throats ripped out.

* * *

"Well this is fun and not at all awkward." Stiles gave Derek a weak smile from his position next to him in the back of the taxi. The two of them had hardly spoke since they left the hotel room. It was like it was surrounded by a bubble of sexual energy that just drove them crazy when they were in it. As soon as they left, though, Derek's emotional barriers came back up. "I really, really, had fun last night. Or I guess it was the morning really." Stiles bit his lip and took a deep breath as he remembered how good Derek felt _inside _him.

"Me too." Derek gave him a grin, unsure of what to say next. "But you know, this doesn't make us a couple or anything like that – I don't want to be mean but, you know..." His heart broke a little at the expression that passed Stiles' face for just a millisecond, if he'd blinked he would have missed it.

"Oh – yeah." Stiles replied lamely, wondering what he had expected. That was the thing, he hadn't had chance to expect anything. Once, in that magical state between waking and sleeping, he had briefly envisioned he and Derek finally admitting to themselves and to each other that they liked one another, probably getting closer as their trip continued, maybe having a romantic kiss under the moonlight, a few dates in the different places they would be coming across, all leading up to the big moment: sex. This morning had thrown him completely off balance, he was conflicted about Derek saying they weren't a couple – he wasn't stupid, how could they be? He had seen enough romantic comedies to know that sex was important, but had read enough to know that sex was just a physical release that everyone needed. Emotional ties that seemed to appear in the movies were just involuntary, he was unsure if those ties were actually real – sure he felt closer to Derek, but he had been as physically, and on some level emotionally, close to another human as possible, and the fact he had taken his virginity was bound to cause some feelings. The confusing part was not really being heartbroken that they weren't suddenly walking down the street holding hands, kissing in the back of the taxi, and throwing a huge party to celebrate their new status as a couple. Shouldn't he be feeling bad that none of it was happening, that it was just the same as ever – the only difference now being that they had now had sex?

"Here ya' go – walk of fame." The taxi driver said a little awkwardly; he could feel the sexual energy between these guys so had cut out his usual taxi banter. They paid him off and hopped out into the smoggy, hot streets, glancing up and down for their group.

"So what do we do now?" Stiles asked when he realised they couldn't see them, wanting to know what was happening.

"Please – Stiles. Don't make it a big deal. I don't wanna be the lead character in a lame soap opera." Derek wondered how it would feel to walk down the street holding hands; wondered what it would be like to open himself up emotionally and share things with someone. He gave Stiles a quick glance; grinning as thoughts of how cute and hot and sexy and sweet and nice washed over him all at once; he found it even hotter that he seemed totally unaware of it, but he just wasn't the relationship kind of guy. "I'm not going to ignore you or anything, or even change – well I'll try not to..." He was hardly able to admit it to himself, but Derek was torn about Stiles. There was something there – and not just sex, though that was an amazing part of it – something about the boy made him feel comfortable, he could open up to him about his insecurities like he did in Yosemite, of course Stiles drove him nuts sometimes, but it was kind of sweet.

"Okay." Stiles looked at his feet, wondering if he would be okay with just having a physical relationship. He wanted more, he knew that much, but he wasn't torn up inside that Derek wasn't suddenly all romantic. Or was he? He felt something in his stomach, some knots of confusion, but he couldn't work out what they were.

"There they are." Derek motioned towards the four teenagers crammed together on a bench, talking in hushed tones.

"Hey!" Stiles waved his hands in the air, shooting them a grin when they finally noticed him. They easily crossed the distance between them, a deep sigh going out from Derek when he saw the looks of shock and apprehension on their faces. They should have both gone easy on the biting.

"Dude, were you mauled or something?" Jackson asked with wide eyes as he took in the love-bites coating Derek's neck, a few more peeking out from under his shirt. Derek just growled in response, giving everyone a red eyed glare.

"Uh – so, are you having fun?" Stiles could feel his face burning, suddenly wishing he had been a little more tame with his teeth, pulling his hands up to his neck so his own love-bites were hidden.

"Jesus..." Jackson muttered, catching sight of Stiles' marks as he adjusted his fingers. He wished he had kept his mouth shut when he heard Derek growl again, screwing up his eyes so he couldn't see the anger crossing over Derek's face.

"We need to talk to you." Scott said, finally believing what everyone had been saying about Stiles and Derek. He didn't want to believe it, his heart breaking a little bit as thoughts that Stiles may have felt Scott didn't want him to talk to him flitted through his head.

"Oh, no, no, no." Derek held up his hands in protest. "I know what's coming – I can see it on your faces. Don't say a word – it's between me and Stiles."

"But -" Lydia began.

"- Not a word!"

"But it's really -" Allison gave it her best shot.

"- Allison!" Derek was glaring at all of them, glancing over at Stiles to see he'd suddenly became very interested in the famous name under his feet, his face a mask of embarrassment.

"Anyway – we should hurry if you still want to go that show tonight." Stiles looked up at Derek in wonder, he had thought he wouldn't have wanted to go and see Lionel's band. A part of him actually hoped he just wanted Stiles back in the hotel room.

"Yeah, uh, plenty of sights to see." Stiles threw a weak smile to the group, wishing his face wasn't on fire. He and Derek walked a little behind everyone else, not purposely, it just ended up that way as the couples paired off, each two laughing and joking with each other, snapping pictures of famous sights and enjoying the city.

"Smile!" Stiles had a huge grin plastered across his face as he took shots of a surly Derek in front of the many attractions. "Why don't you smile more?" He gave Derek a little shove with his hip. He knew they would eventually have to confront what they were to each other, but this was his trip, he wanted to just spend the day enjoying the sights.

"I look dumb."

"You don't look dumb." Stiles blushed slightly, wondering if he was allowed to say things like that. He tentatively reached out a hand to touch Derek's shoulder, giving him a reassuring rub. Derek grinned back; he couldn't help it. He knew he should be telling him to get off, to not touch him in such a sweet way in public, but he just couldn't resist. He knew he was infatuated with Stiles, the boy was just so attractive, so strangely easy to be with. It was, of course, punctuated by many long, annoying ramblings and sarcastic comments, as well as evil glares and commands to shut up, but there was an oddly endearing quality about it. Any worries they had about being thrown together as a 'couple' through the circumstances had vanished; neither of them knew what it was they were doing, but they were enjoying trying to figure it out. The uneasy looks they kept getting from everyone else were just ignored, each and every one wondering what would come out tonight when the alcohol started flowing.


	19. West Hollywood

"Do we have to go?" Derek asked Stiles, watching him as he slipped into his boxers.

"You're the one who reminded me!" Stiles retorted with a grin, his eyes roving over Derek's naked body.

"Yeah but after that I just wanna stay here." Derek's licked his lips in anticipation of round two.

"Get dressed!" A shirt whacked Derek in the face as Stiles threw it at him, leaning over to get a t shirt out of the suitcase in the most provocative way he could think of, laughing when he saw Derek's dick hardening. He wanted to get back into bed and worship him, but he didn't want to miss the show. A groan left his lips as he realised he should probably get a shower, he was all sticky.

"I'm coming." Derek told Stiles' as he saw him stripping again and heading for the bathroom, mouth falling when Stiles placed a hand on his chest to push him away.

"Uh-uh!" We'll never get there if you come in with me."

"But -"

"- No!" Stiles shot him a grin as he poured a vodka and coke for himself and went into the bathroom, his hand twitching as he tried to decide if he should lock the door or not. He really, really didn't want to, but he knew he should. A sigh went up as the lock shifted to the right, trapping Derek in the bedroom. Sipping the drink while he waited for the water to heat up, Stiles fretted about telling Scott what he and Derek were doing. He had imagined the sex conversation with his best friend many times, but it was always full of hearty slaps on the back and huge grins as they discussed Stiles and Lydia – Derek was something else entirely. Stiles didn't know if he could explain what they were doing, didn't know if Scott would understand that just because they weren't suddenly 'boyfriends' it didn't mean what they were doing was wrong.

"Cock blocking band assholes..." Derek muttered as he fished out clothes and laid them on the bed, ready for when he got out of the shower. He could see Stiles' own clothes in the case next to his as he sorted out some dark blue jeans and a black t shirt for himself, his mind ticking over, wondering if it would be too much to lay Stiles' clothes out for him. With a shrug he just decided to do it, he knew the kid might think way to much into it, but he didn't really care, in fact he kind of hoped he did.

* * *

West Hollywood was a mess of incredibly attractive twenty-somethings, all dressed in tiny slips of dresses and very tight t shirts to highlight their incredible bodies, phones jammed onto ears as they paraded through the streets on their way to clubs and bars. Stiles' watched them wide wide eyes from the back of the taxi he was jammed into with Scott, Allison and Lydia. He had planned on going with Derek and Jackson, but the three of them had grabbed his hand and taken him with them and before he could protest they had been off, the figures of Jackson and Derek shrinking as they roared down Santa Monica Boulevard.

"Stiles... we all want to talk to you." Scott put a reassuring hand on his friends shoulder, hoping he would finally talk to him now.

"I don't want to, Scott." Stiles gave him a weak smile, he was still annoyed at him for what he said at the house party, as well as for prying into whatever he and Derek had – he _wanted _to tell him about it, but he didn't want him prying. "If I'm ready I'll tell you on my own, okay?"

"Not okay." Lydia interrupted, swivelling round in the front seat so she could look into his eyes. "We're all worried. We don't want you becoming some sort of sex toy for Derek Hale."

"Sex toy?!" Stiles mouth dropped open, lips clamping together a few seconds later as he tried to contain his laughter.

"We never said that!" Allison panicked, Lydia was _not _sticking to what they had decided.

"Frankly it's pathetic and it's making us all uncomfortable when you two hang around at the back joking with each other."

"- No it doesn't!" Allison's mouth was hanging open, her eyes wide. Clearly she and Lydia were no longer on the same page.

"Well it made me uncomfortable when everyone else was coupling up, leaving me and Derek alone while they went to jump each others bones in the bushes, leaving us at the back while you got all lovey-dovey with each other." Stiles crossed his arms and tried to stare her down. He had to look away first, she was the master of a judgemental stare.

"Stiles, you're worth more than that. You don't deserve to be Derek's little property."

"Oh my god..." Stiles was in shock, couldn't believe what she was saying. "It's been like eight hours since we hooked up, how can _you _decide what me and Derek are? It's between me and him – so back off." He wished the seat would just swallow him up, feeling six eyes baring into his soul was the _most _disconcerting thing.

"Stiles, Stiles!" Allison leaned over Scott to tap his shoulder, "I swear I don't feel the same way Lydia does – well, I do, but not in such harsh terms." A glare left her eyes, heading straight for Lydia. "We want you to be with him, if it makes you happy!"

"Leave it!" Stiles wished he could describe what he did as a 'growl' but it was more of a broken whimper, his bottom lip shaking slightly.

"Buddy, we just want to know that you're okay." Scott joined in, trying to put his arm around Stiles but finding himself shrugged off.

"I don't understand! It's not like you haven't seen me or something, don't I look fine?!"

"Actually it looks like you need some cream for your neck..." Lydia muttered under her breath, wincing as she felt Allison lightly slap her over the head.

"I was gonna try and talk to you about it," Stiles glared at Scott, "but you're making me so god damn uncomfortable that it's really not worth it any more." He threw ten dollars into Scott's hands and jumped out, mentally thanking whoever was watching over him for letting him make his grand exit at that moment, not looking back as he walked into the bar.

* * *

In another taxi a mile or so behind, Derek and Jackson sat in an awkward silence, both staring out at the bright lights of the busy city, each wrapped in their own thoughts.

"Excited for tonight?" Jackson asked, just to fill the silence.

"I'm excited for what I'll be doing to Stiles when we get home." Derek countered with a cocky grin, laughing to himself at how easy it was to make Jackson uncomfortable.

"Dude!"

"You're the one who wanted to know." The alpha stared him down.

"Everyone's gonna try and get Stiles to talk, you know."

"Well that shouldn't be a problem – the kid can't shut up." Derek smiled to himself.

"No, I mean – really talk. About you, and him, and if you guys are like, I dunno, dating now, or whatever." Jackson had never been so uncomfortable in his life – where was his back up?! He had thought it would be funny to joke around about Derek and Stiles, but the man was too hard to intimidate.

"You have to be kidding." Derek ran a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. He knew Stiles wouldn't talk if they tried to _make him _talk – he was stubborn like that. As the taxi pulled over on the busy street outside the bar, Derek let out another resigned sigh. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"They're just being assholes, ya know?!" Stiles slurred through his fifth vodka and coke, adding a little more to the glass from a hip flask.

"Oh – totally." The blonde girl – Lionel's girlfriend – said with heavy eyes as they sat on the floor in the backstage bathroom. She laid out another line of cocaine on the toilet seat and rolled up a twenty. "Want a line?" She asked with a lazy grin.

"Uh – no... thanks." Stiles was upset, but he knew better than to do drugs to try and get over it. "They just shouldn't push me so much, do they know me at all?! I'm not gonna talk if I don't _want _to!"

"They sound like a drag." She said, wiping the residue from her nose with the back of her hand. They both looked up, a little startled, as the door burst open.

"Jesus Marissa! Not again, I thought you stopped that shit." Lionel stood in the doorway, shaking his head, his eyes roving over his girlfriend and Stiles. "Why didn't you stop her?!" He pushed Stiles out of the way, dragging Marissa up.

"I uh – sorry. I didn't think." Guilt churned around in his stomach as he realised he was being so self centred that he hadn't noticed she'd done at least ten lines, mixing it with vodka and a cocktail of Vicodin and Xanex.

"Leave me alone! I didn't get the job, I need this!" She reached out desperately for the bag Lionel was flushing away, kicking out angrily, her spiked heel catching Stiles in the back of his neck, drawing blood.

"Fucking stop!" Lionel was shouting trying to push her away as he poured the plastic containers full of pills down with the coke.

"I should go -" Stiles mumbled as he struggled to his feet.

"Yeah, you should!" Lionel shot back, wishing the annoying, probably drug addicted kid would just leave him alone.

"Watch it." Lionel flinched a little as Derek appeared in the doorway, the light blocked by his powerful frame, casting him in shadow. "Come on, Stiles." Derek reached out, and suddenly they were hand in hand, crossing from room to room until they came across an empty backstage dressing room, sitting down on a worn leather Chesterfield.

"You never held my hand unless we were in bed." Stiles grinned, touching the cut on the back of his neck.

"Well, Jackson told me they were gonna 'talk' to you – thought you might want a treat." Derek joked with a slight smile.

"Lydia said I was just your fuck buddy." Stiles cringed as he remembered her words, only now realising how much they hurt. Derek gave him a lingering glance as he rooted around for a cloth to clean the blood off Stiles' neck. He didn't know what to say – were they more than fuck buddies?

"Well, we don't have to call ourselves anything..." Derek began cleaning him up, one hand slowly tracing his jaw as the other wiped around the cut. "I wouldn't really know what to tell people."

"I guess – I mean I couldn't say we're dating, could I?" Stiles flinched as Derek hit a sensitive patch of torn skin. The sounds of the supporting band playing their first song filled the room, filtered by the walls, as Derek considered his answer.

"We haven't even been on a date, so no." Stiles' face fell a little, but he hadn't been expecting much more. "We don't owe an explanation to anyone, Stiles."

"I know that -" Stiles tried to think of what to say, how to express his mixed emotions, "- but I guess _I _want to know." He gave Derek a weak shrug, turning to face him now that his cut was clean.

"Stiles..." Derek groaned, hands in his head. Deep down he had known he was the type who would want an explanation, would want everything labelled and put into a nice little box, but he just couldn't do it. "I don't do it Stiles. Relationships. Not any more, not since Kate." His jaw tightened as he remembered her. "I didn't think I'd have to – at least not on this trip, not with you."

"Can't you try?" Stiles asked quietly, hoping he wasn't ruining everything.

"No." Derek shook his head, he wanted to be honest. "Just, whatever it is, don't try and define it, okay? Everything gets all messed up when that happens. Right now you mean more to me than anyone, can't that just be enough?" Pangs of emotion were racking his body, but he didn't know what to make of them, he would have loved it if he could try, but some emotion deep down was stopping him.

Stiles smiled back at him sadly, squeezing his hand. "I don't know."


	20. Clarity, Or Not

Stiles and Derek stayed sat on that ragged old brown sofa for a long while, neither of them talking much, just facing each other, hands clasped together, each one lost in their own thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Derek said, after a time.

"I get it." Stiles replied. He really didn't get it, but the sick, twisted, lustful monster inside of him wouldn't allow him to let Derek go, to let whatever they had end. He wanted – needed – to keep him, and if he had to compromise then he would.

They strolled slowly back into the main room, all dark and smoky, full of people on high tables and chairs watching the band – Lionel's band. Stiles felt himself breath a disappointed sigh as their fingers parted just as they stepped through the door. A cluster of fans surrounded the stage, yelping excitedly as the room filled with bass, a few cheap lights turned onto the musicians faces, and Lionel started to sing.

"There you are!" Derek and Stiles looked up, a little startled, as they heard Scott's voice. They had been stood listening, heads nodding along a little, both trying to get out of the strange atmosphere they were in, it was disconcerting to have it broken.

"Hey!" Stiles grinned. Scott's greeting had broken the mood, it was as if the music became a little louder, a little faster, the room a little brighter. He and Derek would figure it out – for now he wanted to have fun.

"You're not drunk?" Scott asked, stepping back a little so he could check if Stiles was swaying.

"I was kind of, I was in the bathroom with this girl who was straight out of a bad Hollywood cliché, but then her boyfriend came – oh and then big scary wolf man here came and scared the boyfriend – so uh, that's what happened, but no I'm not drunk, why?" Stiles still had a grin on his face.

"We were worried, we thought you'd be passed out somewhere in a bad mood."

"Oh – I am still annoyed at you guys for you know, what you all said – especially Lydia," Derek tensed next to him as he remembered Stiles' confession, but he tried to relax, he would keep it to himself for now, "but I mean whatever, I guess I'm over it if you all just shut the hell up." Stiles prayed to god; the universe; karma; to anyone who answered prayers to make Scott shut up – Derek had made it very clear he didn't want any sort of relationship dramas.

"Okay then..." Scott said slowly, confusion spreading across his face – did the guy even have another expressions but confusion and stupid happiness? "Well, if that's what you want." He moved to back away.

"Hey, come here man!" Stiles embraced him, both of them letting out sighs of happiness as the strange antagonism they had been in vanished.

"There you are!" Allison beamed as she, Jackson, and Lydia approached, all of the questions they had been preparing to ask, the speeches about how the two of them deserved someone and should just embrace each other and be happy being buried deep inside when Scott ran a finger across his throat – mission aborted.

* * *

As the band – who were decent, but Stiles could understand why they hadn't been signed yet, they were still pretty raw – continued their set, everyone loosened up. They let all thoughts of Stiles and Derek leave their minds , focusing more on gyrating to the music.

"These guys are great!" Scott grinned, one arm draped over Stiles' shoulder, both of them beaming at each other as they nodded along. Allison was grinning like an idiot as she did a little dance to with the song that was playing, holding hands with a strangely quiet Lydia from time to time as they spun each other around.

"Mm." Derek grunted non-committally, he thought they were okay. He was more focused on watching Stiles from the corner of his eye, unable to stop the grin from creeping up his face. He loved how Stiles was so carefree, grinning like a Cheshire cat, glad to be back in the company of his best friend.

While everyone else had left thoughts of Derek and Stiles behind, Jackson was still hung up on it, unable to stop thinking how a weedy kid like Stiles could have attracted Derek Hale – even he had to admit the guy was hot. Sexuality crisis much?

"I'm really sorry, ya know?" Scott told Stiles as they stood in line at the bar, both of them slightly drunk.

"For what?" Stiles asked, feigning ignorance, hoping he wasn't talking about Derek again.

"I guess for not spending as much time with you as I should have." Scott stroked the back of his neck uncomfortably; he never was good with emotional conversations, but he needed to let Stiles know he still cared. "I know you were excited for the trip – I just got too caught up with Allison, but we can hang out more now. Well, when you're not with Derek."

"Couldn't resist a Derek jibe, could ya? Thanks, though." Stiles grinned, leaning close to the bartenders ear to order a beer. The place was getting more and more packed as the hours ticked by; Stiles was beginning to feel a little too hot.

"I love you, man." Scott smiled at his friend, happy with the reply of a huge smile from Stiles, not knowing that all Stiles could think about was how good it would be to hear words like that from Derek. More dancing ensued as the two boys returned, Stiles automatically going to Derek's side, giggling when he realised that they had basically became a real couple. He shook his head, trying to get 'couple' thoughts out – they all knew what a can of worms _that one _was.

"Wanna go outside?" Allison asked, her t shirt pinched between her fingers, pulling it back and forth to get some air flowing.

"I'm cold." Lydia complained, looking very pale.

"Cold? It's boiling!" Stiles complained, nodding at Allison and following her. His hand reached for Derek's, not remembering the hang ups Derek had, his heart falling a little when he felt the fingers wiggling away from his.

"I'm staying here." Derek gave him a weak smile. Stiles tried to pretend he didn't care by throwing him a shrug and a half smile.

The small courtyard was packed with black clad 'young and hip' types puffing on their cigarettes, huddled around the huge heaters – people in LA seemed to get cold pretty easily. Stiles and Allison sat down on a mercifully empty bench with their beers, both smiling at how much cooler it was out here.

"Nice." Stiles said absently, picking at some ivy on the wall beside him. The entire space looked like something from a fantasy novel, all old, fading brick covered in ivy, a small fountain that didn't work any more in the centre, now full of dead cigarette ends. Moss and weeds grew through cracks in the floor, where girls in heels kept getting stuck.

"I know I'm not supposed to but -" Allison began, talking as fast as possible. "- I think you and Derek are so cute and you should really, really, really stay together."

"Uh..." Stiles just gawked at her, he didn't know it was possible for anyone to speak faster than he did.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry – but I think you should know I actually think it's good. Everyone else said they did, then when Lydia went off like that in the taxi I was mortified. I think she's ill or something."

"Just slow down!" Stiles said with a laugh, he was glad Allison was breaking Derek's rules – it was making him feel much better. "You really think we look like we're together?" He looked up from under his lashes, suddenly feeling shy.

"Definitely. You look so good together. I won't say _anything _in front of Derek, but really, I just wanted you to know I support it – fuck what everyone else thinks." She giggled as she swore, surprised and glad at herself for letting loose on this trip.

"Thanks, Allison, really." Stiles looked around for Derek, leaning in close to Allison in case he was using his super responsive wolf hearing to eavesdrop on them, "It was amazing." He had to cover his mouth to stop the giggles that were pouring out, surprised at himself for opening up to her.

"I could tell – looks like you guys, uh, had fun." Allison pointed to the red marks on Stiles' neck with an amused smile on her face as thoughts flooding back to him of Derek's teeth on his skin... Derek's lips on his mouth... Derek's lips on some –_ other – _parts of him – he blushed. She put her head on his shoulder, glad to just relax for a second, away from Scott's constant touching.

"Scott's being too clingy." She whispered. Stiles flinched; he had been so wrapped up in he and Derek he hadn't even noticed anything amiss. Now that he thought about it, things were a little muddy – Lydia looked as ill as a dog, Scott and Allison seemed frayed, and Jackson was surly and unresponsive.

"Just tell him to stop, I'll try and talk to him tomorrow." Stiles gave her a quick, reassuring pat on the shoulder before he pulled her up and the two made their way downstairs. He would have given anything to have Allison's problem – too _much _touching in public! He realised it wasn't that serious of an issue, but it was serious too her. He was determined to get Scott to change his over touchy ways tomorrow, when they were out of the blasting music of the dark basement room. Stiles and Allison's bodies began gyrating as they walked back into that same basement room, both grinning at the much lighter music; a new band were playing now, a four piece girl band who were playing rather more pop-sounding songs than Lionel's band had played.

"_Stand and deliver!" _Stiles grinned as he sung along to the bands cover of _Stand and Deliver –_ which sounded closer to the _No Doubt _version than the _Adam & The Ants _classic, grabbing hold of Jackson – who kept giving him and Derek confused glances, still unable to process it – and spinning him around the room, an internal sigh going out when a huge grin spread across his dancing partners face.

"Come on Lydia!" Stiles grabbed her hand, ignoring her groans as he pulled her out to where Jackson was dancing with Allison, spinning her around, jumping up and down, until her bored pout was replaced with the tiniest hint of a smile, her eyes locking with Stiles', her lips mouthing a silent '_thank you'_. He subtly tried to keep Scott's hands off Allison as he took him out to the floor; Scott was happy now that he knew Stiles wasn't mad at him, and needed hardly any persuasion to dance – the problem was keeping his hands off his girlfriend (Stiles absently thought how strange it was to be trying to keep someones boyfriend off them). Allison gave him a weak smile while jumping up and down, yelping when she felt Scott's hands on her ass – she felt like she was being suffocated by his love lately.

"Police line do not cross!" She screamed, grinning to try and take some hurt away from her words, her arms chopping back and forth as she made a square around herself. He left the four smiling teens for a second as he went and got Derek, who was sat at the bar having his fifth beer.

"Dance?" Stiles asked, holding out a hand. For a second he thought Derek was going to ignore him; then he took hold of his hand. Stiles felt like he was in a dream, feeling the warmth of Derek's palm in his in a room that was full of strangers was a revelation – he knew he wanted more of it.

"Whit-woo!" Jackson guffawed as they approached the group hand in hand. Derek growled, his hand slipping out of Stiles'.

"Asshole!" Stiles yelled, shaking his head and groaning. Why was it so hard to do anything normal with Derek?! The man said they weren't anything defined; Stiles wanted to accept it, but as he looked up, brown eyes locking with green ones, he knew he wasn't going to stop trying to subtly work out what they were. He needed to know.


	21. Laguna Beach

The groans coming from Derek and Stiles' hotel room were obscene, everyone who was leaving the hotel that morning glancing at the firmly closed door with it's 'do not disturb' sign in shock – or more accurately, jealousy.

"Oh my fucking god -" Stiles felt his eyes rolling into the back of his head as Derek rolled his hips back and forth, stimulating the thousands of unbelievably sensitive nerve endings in the boy beneath him.

"Stiles..." Derek groaned, lightly nibbling as his collarbone, pressing his chest down harder, thrusting into him deeper. He needed this – needed Stiles.

"Come on." Stiles wanted Derek harder, faster, always urging him on to do more and more. It was like the man thought he would break, but Stiles was a big boy – though not quite as big as Derek, if you get my drift – he could handle it. Derek held Stiles' long legs apart, hands gripping the underside of his knees tightly, watching the muscles tighten in his thighs through lust blurred vision as he pushed himself forward again to lock their lips together, their tongues clumsy and uncoordinated, unable to focus through the intense pleasure shooting through them.

Stiles knew he shouldn't be having sex with Derek right now, not after his strange behaviour last night, but hey – he had needs too, and Derek was the perfect satisfaction.

"Now Stiles, now!" Derek was almost unintelligible as he felt his orgasm building up, feeling Stiles' hand grazing against his stomach as he pumped his own dick faster and faster, each others groans turning both of them on more and more as Derek rocked back and forth, hips twisting as he pulled almost all the way out before thrusting back inside. Their clumsy kiss broke as Derek felt his stomach getting coated with the fruit of Stiles' pleasure, unable to keep their tongue fight up through the moans of satisfaction.

"Holy shit." Derek was laughing wildly as he pulled out and laid himself on top of Stiles, his chuckles increasing as Stiles joined in; they couldn't help but laugh at how amazing it felt.

"We should get dressed." Stiles lifted Derek's chin up so he could kiss him, blushing as he felt both their dicks hardening again.

"Round two?" Derek grinned, his fingers exploring each and every one of Stiles' ribs.

"Well, we do have the car keys. Everyone will just have to wait." Stiles had the breath thrown out of him as Derek spun him around so he was on top, his green gaze full of desire as Stiles looked down at him, biting his lip as Derek – despite his view being blocked by Stiles body – rolled a fresh condom on and lined himself up. They were having a perfect morning.

* * *

"Now, Stiles!" Derek yelled from his position by the door, two suitcas

es by his feet, waiting for Stiles to finish brushing his teeth.

"I'm coming!" He spluttered through a mouthful of white foam, sticking his head around the door and throwing Derek a stupid smile which he couldn't resist returning. "I have to be minty fresh for the day ahead – who knows what lips may be locking with mine?"

"Okay, fine, just hurry."

"It's your fault," Stiles grinned, the toothpaste on his lips parting as he bit his lips at the memories of this morning. "Brushing your teeth is a delicate art," Stiles stopped his cleaning motions as he spoke, head peeping around into the bedroom, laughing to himself when Derek's jaw tightening and his leg starting an impatient tapping, "you have to do it properly or not bother with it at all. Now I -" Stiles did a low bow, dripping toothpaste onto the carpet, "- happen to be a master of the trade, so let me do my thing."

"Hurry. Up!" Derek scowled.

"Well you know you don't scare me any more." Stiles gulped, wishing he didn't have the white stuff all around his mouth.

"Oh – I don't?" Derek dropped the keys onto a side table as he crossed the room. "How about I persuade you in some other ways." His fingers were tracing Stiles' chest over the t shirt, one of his knees jammed in between his thighs.

"Oh, I don't know. I have pretty good resolve – this master will not crack under a little pressure."

"Mm hm? You didn't have very good resolve this morning. How about some pleasure instead?" Derek gripped Stiles waist, letting the backpack in one hand fall to the floor with a thud as his face inched closer to Stiles own.

"I think if you make me a good offer I can try and hurry it up..." Stiles whispered, his cheeks rising as he grinned, causing the tiniest amount of toothpaste to be transferred to Derek's face. "Woops." He laughed, a laugh that was soon silenced as Derek's tongue darted into his minty fresh mouth, white foam coating their chins as they laughed and kissed, arms wrapped around each other, Stiles' toothbrush rubbing against Derek's back and marking his black t shirt – now _that_ was going to look like a very suspicious stain.

"Now. Get ready!" Derek gave Stiles ass a playful slap, grinning as he felt the toothpaste all over his face, kissing Stiles all the way to the bathroom so he could clean it off. He wanted to clean every inch of Stiles with his tongue, but he was a man with a schedule – only Stiles could make him break it for even a second with this kiss.

* * *

"In!" Derek yelled, his feet tapping repeatedly, his face morphed into a scowl as he watched Lydia struggling to fit her suitcase in.

"It won't fit!" She groaned, wishing she hadn't bought so many new clothes yesterday.

"I'll help – you know, because I have amazing strength and all?!" Stiles yelled into the back of the car, eyes widening when none of the super strong wolves got the hint. "Hello?! Can someone help us?" He picked up a lacrosse stick Scott had brought with him, leaning through the car and whacking him over the head.

"What the -?"

"Scott – help!" Allison shouted as she approached, quickly replacing a departing Lydia, yelping as she slipped and the very heavy suitcase almost tumbled out of her and Stiles' arms.

"Huh?" Scott mumbled, feeling a little dizzy after having his skull smacked

"For god sake." Derek snarled, hopping out of the car with a very aggressive slam of the door, moving around to where Stiles and Allison were still struggling, easily taking the case from them, hands grazing against Stiles' as he took hold of it. The two of them exchanged a secret smile, not unnoticed by Jackson, who groaned – quickly silenced with one of Derek's famous red eyed glares.

"Get a room." He mumbled, covering his eyes with sunglasses.

"Get a freaking -" Stiles picked up the lacrosse stick again, working it through the car so he could give Jackson a smack, "- life! Ha!" Jackson waited till the last second to try and show off his reflexes by grabbing the stick, turning just a second too late, wincing as he was whacked on the forehead.

"Now, now." Allison giggled, giving Derek's arm a friendly squeeze of thanks before heading back to her door, crawling over Jackson and slipping in beside Scott. She placed her backpack firmly between them.

"We're waiting." Lydia smirked.

"You're fault!" Stiles shot back with a grin, his eyes rising to give Derek another smile over the roof of the truck. They both couldn't stop grinning.

"Why can't I drive?" Stiles moaned, wanting to protect himself from any ridiculing comments about his music with the drivers trump cards.

"Because I want to." Derek replied calmly, switching the radio on before they pulled out onto Santa Monica Boulevard. Stiles was tracing lazy patterns in Derek's hard thigh as they began their departure from Los Angeles, blushing when he glanced in the rear view mirror and saw eight eyes staring at him – he didn't move his hand. His other fingers were lazily flicking through songs, trying to find something good to listen to.

"Stop changing songs!" Jackson leaned over to give him a playful slap, his hand connecting painfully with the metal under the headrest as Stiles dodged just in time, turning to stick his tongue out. They joked along with each other as the car crawled slowly through the San Diego Freeway traffic, Downey, Anaheim, and Santa Ana being left behind as they picked up speed, heading for Laguna Beach where they were stopping for breakfast.

"I'm gonna eat so much that I throw up." Stiles grinned happily, nodding his head along to the music.

"I wouldn't – not if you want to keep this up," Derek took a deep breath, glancing in the rear view mirror for a second before he decided to take the plunge and please Stiles, leaning in for a long, lingering kiss; a kiss that went on so long cars started honking their horns behind them.

"You're holding up traffic!" Allison giggled, a huge smile on her face.

"Not as bad as what I heard this mor -" Jackson began, "Ow!" Lydia gave him a smack, her own head cocked to the side, surprised that Derek had kissed Stiles in front of them. She knew she had been a total bitch in Los Angeles, she had been having a bad night.

"Well if that's my reward I think I can cut out a few pancakes." Stiles grinned at Derek, feeling his heart doing somersaults of joy. Deep down he was still upset about Derek not wanting to be in any sort of 'real' relationship, but when he was like this it was almost as if they didn't need a definition – everything was perfect anyway. The problem was when they _weren't _like this.

"_Let's go back... back to the beginning..." _Lydia began singing, head swaying slowly from side to side, grinning as the crystal clear waters of Laguna came into their view.

"_I'm comin' clean!_" Stiles joined in with a dramatic flourish and huge bark of laughter, drawing confused glances from Derek, Scott, and Jackson – they had never seen _Laguna Beach_.

"_Let the rain fall down!_" Allison joined in, putting her hands on Lydia's shoulder over her seat and singing into her ear. The girls grinned at each other, both remembering the fun nights they had spent at home watching the show. The three of them were singing so loud the music that was already playing was blocked out, everyone else unable to resist smiling as they screwed up their eyes and belted out the theme song, looking around at the streets they were passing through, imagining themselves as a young Lauren Conrad or Kristin.

"_LET THE RAIN FALL DOWN!_" They all sang in sync, glancing at each other and laughing at how ridiculous they must have looked, unable to keep the huge smiles off their faces as Derek pulled the car over at a diner just by the beach. They finished with the haunting instrumentals at the end, shaking their heads as they hopped out of the car in walked into the busy diner.

The drama of LA was left behind – for now – all six of them smiling stupidly as they joked and talked, ordering mountains of pancakes, toast, bacon, eggs, coffee, and orange juice, digging ravenously into the delicious food, their faces aching from smiling so much as they enjoyed the beautiful California morning.


	22. San Diego Zoo

The Birthplace of California reared up before them in the clear, morning light, a glittering city of glass and steel under the shadow of the mountains. Stiles – who was sat with his fingers resting on top of Derek's – whooped and yelled, squirming around in his seat as they approached.

"The animals are gonna be so freaking great!" He grinned at everyone in the rear view mirror, one hand flicking through pictures of the zoo on his phone.

"I can't believe they have pandas." Lydia said excitedly, leaning forward so she could enjoy the pictures too.

"We have some pretty nice animals with us here." Stiles joked, shooting a glance at Derek, Jackson, and Scott. "We could probably sell you for a nice bit of cash, rebuild our losses after the ridiculously expensive hotel."

"Hey - that LA hotel was worth it!" Lydia protested, biting her lip when she noticed the secret smiles crossing over Derek and Stiles' faces – oh yeah, to them it was worth _every _cent. Stiles was still conflicted about Derek – the guy just made no sense. One day he was saying they couldn't hold hands or kiss in public, saying they couldn't even discuss their relationship, and the next he was kissing him in front of all their friends and holding hands all the way to San Diego!

It wasn't like Stiles was complaining or anything, he loved the way Derek was acting today – the problem was how he'd be tomorrow, or the next day. With no distinction on what they were how could they expect it to _go _anywhere?

"Almost there." Derek told them quietly as they drove through Balboa Park, screwing up his eyes and frowning as they all screamed – he didn't get it, they could see a much more interesting animal than anything at the zoo if they just asked him to shift.

"You're not excited?! This is gonna be amazing." Stiles furrowed his brow, feeling a little proud of himself for reading Derek's mind – leaving out the fact that his grimace left no need for mind reading – a half smile on his lips. "I'm going to induct you into the joys of the zoo – all the cute little lions and harmless little hippos, sweet pandas and gorgeous snakes." He proceeded to tell him all about how wonderful animals were, how knowledgeable he was, and how much he could teach Derek – he just hoped the man wouldn't freaking run off or start complaining about their stupid relationship status and how they shouldn't be doing this or that.

"You have some interesting views on these animals – they're ferocious and wild and shouldn't be locked up." Derek grinned, wishing they were parked up so he could look into Stiles' eyes, but instead having to crawl up and down the enormous car park outside the zoo, looking for a spot.

"Shut up you two, you're about to miss a spot!" Jackson shoved Derek's seat to get his attention. He could tell Derek was hardly paying attention to the road, instead hanging on every word of Stiles' ramblings.

"Move, bitch!" Lydia yelled through the glass as a soccer mom in a white SUV tried to pull into their space. Derek sped up slightly, cutting her off, her face curling into a scowl as she backed away.

"Ha! That showed her." Stiles grinned as they parked up, unbuckling and hopping out into the mild San Diego morning. He watched with envy as Allison & Scott and Jackson & Lydia held hands whilst walking to the gates. He leaned out for Derek's, finding his fingers flailing in mid air, looking up to see Derek had his arms crossed, eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

"No one is around..." Stiles muttered to Derek, pouting.

"Leave it." The werewolf warned with a growl, his lips a hard line of silence. He didn't want to talk about 'Derek and Stiles' any more – he had done his piece in the car, he kissed Stiles for god sake! He wasn't ready to be out there for everyone to see.

The route to the the Skyfari – which they were using to get over to the pandas, everyones favourite sight – took them past an array of interesting animals, all of them unable to resist stopping for a good twenty minutes at each enclosure, past Flamingos, Parrots, and Orangutangs, where they stayed a lot longer than they had planned on, gazing at the huge, majestic creatures.

"Looks kind of like you." Stiles joked as they watched the big fat orange beast scratching under its arms.

"Oh ha-ha." Derek's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually it looks like more fun than you – can't you at least smile with your twin?" Stiles asked as he pulled out the camera, snapping a photo of a surly Derek with the beast in the background. "Come on!" Stiles jabbed him in the ribs a little, trying to get him to loosen up. He had been so much fun this morning – well, they _always _had fun on the morning, the two of them alone in the hotel room – and had been fun at breakfast too, but now he was back to his old, surly self.

"I told you – I don't think they should be caged up."

"Oh for christs sake – save the political activism for Oprah. Great cause and all, yeah whatever, but you're not gonna change it now so just _enjoy it_!" Stiles started counting, deciding that if he reached fifty and Derek didn't at least say something, he would go and spoil some other couples time together and leave Derek to do his own thing.

"Sorry!" Derek spat, finding it hard to apologise when he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. He laced his fingers through Stiles' to cheer him up, internally sighing when he saw the grin spreading across the younger boys face. "How's this for an apology?"

"Oh this can work – definitely." Stiles practically skipped along as they walked to the next enclosure hand in hand, his hand holding Derek's so tight the blood flow was threatening to be cut off.

They used the Skyfari so they could get a good look around the park, pointing out sights as they leaned over the edge of the little green boxes, suspended hundreds of feet in the air.

"Look at that." Stiles guided Derek's hand, which was still clasped in his own, to a tree lined enclosure off in the distance, hundreds of colourfully attired tourists flocking around its fences.

"They must hate being boxed up." Derek replied, his hurt expression hidden behind the tinted windows of his sunglasses.

"Why don't you do an animal breakout – Derek Hale rescues poor animals and takes them into the California wild lands where they all die because they've forgotten how to hunt while in captivity – I can see it now." Derek scowled, his fingers fumbling around, the bones in his joints clicking as he painfully tried to disentangle himself from Stiles' hand.

"Get off!" Derek whispered, giving Stiles a shove.

"Ah-ah-ah! Here's the deal -" Derek was still trying to escape, looking up in panic as the exit of the Skyfari came into view, "- you hold my hand or else when we get to the next hotel a pillow's going in between us – no Stiles for you. How d'ya like _that_!?" Stiles laughed, praying to god his plan worked.

"You'd go into sex remission without me." Derek said as his fingers stopped flailing around, entwining themselves with Stiles' again.

"Looks like you would too." Stiles grinned, holding up their hands in front of Derek's face. He wanted to kiss him, but he'd kind of figured out that the boundaries had been extended to the van, and to some hand holding – kissing where _everyone _could see, not so much. He wondered if anyone would even care – some people thought public displays of affection were cheesy and lame, but Stiles didn't care – he wanted Derek at all times.

"Come on, guys." Scott shook Stiles' shoulder to get his attention, idly thinking how right everyone was – they did look good together – well, maybe Derek could smile a little more.

Everyone looked around in awe at the lush tropical plants that lined the pathways, stopping off to get some (very expensive) drinks on their way to the pandas. The day was heating up, the zoo filling up with tourists in sun hats, floral shirts, and socks with sandals, making it harder and harder to navigate the paths. They got separated a few times - they had decided to take the long way so they could look at more animals – though Stiles didn't really care as long as he didn't get separated from Derek. He just wished the older man was being more fun.

"Look!" Stiles turned to Derek with a huge grin on his face, a grin that widened when he saw even Derek was unable to resist a slight smile at the sight of a panda in the distance.

"These guys do kind of make this day worth it." Derek flinched as Stiles planted a quick kiss on his cheek, letting go of his hand to run ahead. Pandas meant more than Derek right now.

"Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome..." Stiles eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open as he joined Allison and Scott by the low green barrier, watching the beautiful, black and white creature snacking on a stick of bamboo.

"It doesn't even look real." Allison was unable to stop giggling, her eyes roving over what looked like a life size doll.

"It's a cute, fluffy little teddy bear, just like Derek." Stiles stuck his tongue out as Derek himself approached, giving Stiles a playful shove and resting against the barrier. "Here, little panda!" Strange looks were exchanged between the rest of the group as they watched Stiles devolve in to some kind of animal mating dance, trying to attract the attention of the bored animal.

"Uh – Stilinski..." Jackson, whose brow was furrowed, his mouth curled into an amused smile, said, leaning over a mass of whirling hair as Lydia furiously wrote in a small black book. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I watched this online," Stiles replied, not looking up as he started bobbing his head from left to right, his arms extended out before him, fingers doing a dance of their own. The panda hadn't even looked up. "it's a native animal dance – this panda is gonna fall in love with me." Stiles stopped moving his head for a second to grin at Derek, "Sorry, lover – the pandas got me now. Guess you should have held my hand more."

"The panda thinks you're as stupid as the rest of us." Derek snorted, shaking his head. He trained his eyes on the creature, wondering if the plan formulating in his head would work. A flash of red replaced his the green of his irises, head lowered slightly, his eyes baring into the panda. Eyes surrounded by black looked up, meeting Derek's as if in a spell. He could sometimes communicate with wild animals when he was out hunting, using real wolves to help him hunt, scaring off creatures that he didn't want to kill – he'd never tell anyone, but he hated killing rabbits, especially the cute ones. With agonising leisure the panda sat up, slowly making its way across the grass towards them.

"It's working!" Stiles dance picked up pace, arms flailing in the air like a puppet on strings, strange noises coming from his open mouth. Other tourists, who had thought the boy doing the dance must have been a psych patient on release for the day, looked at him in awe, watching the panda heading straight for him, cameras flashing from around hundreds of necks.

"This is not happening, what are you?" Jackson slapped Stiles on the back, howling with glee as the panda reached the edge of the enclosure. If it wasn't for the low wall of glass beyond the barriers they would have been able to reach out and touch him.

"Stop. Go see it." Derek, who was now stood discreetly behind Stiles, said, keeping his gaze focused on the creature, his hands giving Stiles waist a little shove closer to the barrier.

"Told you it would work." Stiles beamed over his shoulder for a second, his hand connecting with Derek's as he leaned down to look through the bars. The panda was looking up, right at him. Every detail of its furry body was clear to them, 'aww's and 'ahh's going up as he held out the bamboo in it's hand as if to give it to Stiles. "The poor baby! We have to rescue it! It can live in the trunk of the car, come here baby!" Stiles laid flat on the ground so he could squeeze his arm through to touch the glass, unable to keep the beam off his face as (no one noticed Derek put out his own palm) the panda reached its hand out, pressed against Stiles through the barrier of glass.

"This might be the sweetest thing I've ever seen." Allison snuggled into Scott's shoulder, forgetting for a second that she was mad at him for smothering her. Derek let them stay like that for a few minutes, his eyes watering from keeping them open for so long, wishing he could look down and see Stiles properly, instead of having to watch him from the corner of his eye.

"That was amazing!" Stiles grinned as Derek realised he couldn't hold his gaze any more, shaking his head and blinking, the red of his eyes (luckily everyone had been too preoccupied with the panda to notice the red eyed man) turning back to green, a chuckle leaving his lips as the panda, who didn't have any idea what had just happened, gave out an animalistic yelp and fell back to the ground, quickly forgetting out the tourists and ambling to the base of its tree, now more interested in some bamboo.

"That must have just been luck." Lydia said in awe, trying to sift through all the information she had on pandas in her head to locate anything about animal mating dances.

"Nope, that's just me being _awesome_ – told you I could make it fall in love with me." Stiles was walking at the head of the group, happily reliving the moment. "My next challenge is Derek." He joked, turning and doing another animal dance as he walked backwards.

"You might need a more complex routine than that." Jackson grinned.

"I'll wait till he shifts." Stiles said, smiling through the four other teens to Derek. He continued telling the story all the way to the next enclosure, musing out loud about what dance would attract the cheetahs to him. Derek just walked silently along, listening with a small, secret smile on his face, glad he could make Stiles happy.


	23. Arizona

"We've been driving for almost five hours, can we _please _stop for a bit?!" Lydia whacked her head onto the back of Stiles' seat in exasperation. Her legs felt like lead, her ass felt like it was being jabbed with hundreds of needles, and her head was pounding. They had stayed at the San Diego zoo for hours, though they hadn't planned on being there so long the place was huge and there was a lot to see, it had taken them most of the day.

"Huh?" Scott's chin fell onto his chest, jerking him awake.

"Dude don't tell me you were asleep at the wheel?!" Jackson leaned forward, giving him a whack over the head for his stupidity. He wanted to get to Phoenix as much as his everyone else did, but unlike his girlfriend he would rather just get the six and a half hour journey over with without any stops.

"I think we should stop too." Stiles said, his foot tapping repeatedly, hand slapping off his knee over and over again – he was desperate for the toilet.

"Maybe we should just sleep at a motel for the night..." Allison suggested, looking out of the window as the first signs of civilization for hundreds of miles – an old, decrepit gas station with two men sat on deck chairs outside – zoomed by them in the fading, dusk light.

"Where are we going to find a motel in this desert?!" Lydia threw her hands up to the windows, pressing them against the dusty glass out to the endless expanse of sand, punctured only by a few cacti, rolling hills in the distance seeming to go on forever.

"My phone doesn't work." Derek threw his phone back into the backpack, cursing the 'no signal' sign and the blank spot which usually read 3G.

"It's Arizona, not the freaking Sahara. I'm sure there'll be one somewhere." Stiles rooted around in the glove box, throwing empty cans of coke, old sweet wrappers, CD's, books, and an assortment as useless crap onto the floor, finally finding the old map booklet at the very back. A very un-manly scream left his lips as a spider crawled out of a series of folded pages, landing on Scott's lap as Stiles threw the booklet into the air.

"Get it off!" Scott yelled, the van swerving from left to right as he shuffled around in his seat, attempting to swat the little eight legged monster with a packet of crisps.

"For god sake." Lydia calmly leaned over, plucking the spider from Scott's lap. "It's not even poisonous." She said, holding the thing up to her face so she could check for any distinctive marks which would mean the girly screams from the front were well founded.

"Well," Stiles huffed, shoving himself deep into the worn leather, "it could have been. I was just protecting you guys – you know, making sure it didn't bite you or anything."

"By throwing it on me?" Scott said, wide eyed.

"You're a wolf!" Stiles shot a glare to the back were Allison and Derek were chuckling at the little scene in front of them. "Since when did you two become best friends?!"

"Aw, don't worry sweetheart, I'll protect you from any big, bad spiders." Derek threw a sarcastic smile to Stiles in the rear view mirror, turning back to the magazine he and Allison were flicking through – even wolves like a juicy celebrity divorce.

It took Stiles a good twenty minutes to get up the courage to open the map up, throwing it onto Scott's lap just as the pages unfurled in case there was a family of little creatures inside.

"Okay... erm..." He tilted the mess of worn pages from left to right, struggling to even figure out where they were. "Why do these even exist any more? Google maps is much easier..."

"Yeah, and none of us have Internet connection." Lydia leaned over to grab the map out of his hands, a look of shock crossing her face when Stiles pulled it away.

"I can do it! Just give me a second..." Stiles' fingers traced the mess of roads, finally locating their deserted back road. "Here! We should have just stayed on the 8."

"You're the one who wanted the real desert experience." Scott grumbled.

"Yeah, but not being stuck in the middle of nowhere!" Cursing the roadworks that had forced them to change their route, Stiles leaned back in his seat once more, studying the little symbols to locate a motel. "Okay, like twenty miles ahead there's somewhere we could stay." He grinned to the rest of the group at his superior map skills, idly wondering how many axe murderers were lurking in this desert.

"Stiles! Come on!" Stiles snapped out of his daze with a jolt, blinking a couple of times but just seeing lines over and over. He had been watching the power lines that ran by the side of the road for the past twenty miles, blanking out the conversation as the sky got darker and the lines became harder and harder to focus on.

"Oh, hell no." The old motel in front of them was straight from an eighties horror movie, Stiles mouth dropping as he took in the old, rusting metal, faded walls which he presumed were supposed to be white, and dead weeds coating the desert floor around it. "We are _not _staying here... are we?" He looked at Derek for some reassurance, hoping he would get everyone back into the car with that authoritative tone he was so good at using, swooping them all off to Phoenix and a real hotel – one not haunted by the ghosts of unfortunate guests who died in brutal murders.

"It's getting late, everyone's tired." The large, strong hand of Derek squeezed his reassuringly for a second before they ambled towards the dilapidated wooden doors to check in. Stiles wasn't calmed when he saw the ancient check in clerk, clad in a yellowed vest and jeans, unsurprisingly missing a few teeth, nor were his spirits lifted when he found they could practically have their pick of rooms – the motel only had three other guests; probably a trio of serial killers.

"I'm in a nightmare. I'm going to wake up any minute and see the city ahead of us. This isn't happening." Stiles clenched his face between both palms as he looked around his and Derek's bedroom, a tiny little thing with a very dirty looking bed, a faded yellow bathroom, and a dusty, broken mini fridge. A large window looked out onto the second floor walk way where the other rooms where – Stiles could imagine seeing the shadow of the scary, hook fisted killer already. "We better make this a good night, because I doubt we'll make it through."

"Shut up, it's just a motel." Derek shrugged, putting his toothbrush in the bathroom.

"We should all stay together just in case."

"No way – I want you all to myself." He felt a little better when Derek crossed the room and enveloped him in a warm, comfortable hug, planting soft kisses on his neck.

"I can't, I can't, I can't." Stiles giggled nervously as he pushed Derek off him, his body quivering as a shiver ran down his spine.

"What's up with you?" Derek looked at him quizzically, knowing he wasn't being mean by pushing him away.

Stiles burst into more fits of laughter, he was so nervous about the damn motel he couldn't control himself. "I think I'm possessed!" Derek just laughed in response, laying back on the bed and turning on the TV.

"White noise, great. No cell reception, white noise on the TV, a scary motel, a creepy check in guy who probably has a mask made of skin, and six teens on a road trip. See where this is going?" Stiles tried to put some music on his phone to perk himself up, his nervous hands dropping it in the process.

"Come here!" Derek said with a sigh, jumping off the unsurprisingly yellowed sheets, practically picking Stiles up and dragging him to the bed, pressing his weight against him to stop him flailing around.

"You know we're probably gonna wake up and find a creepy ghost girl who was brutally murdered in this room has crawled out from under the bed and took my phone so we can't call for help or leave a desperate death message."

"She can have it." Stubble grazed Stiles' face as Derek pressed his lips down on the younger boys to shut him up, sighing with relief as Stiles closed his eyes and began dropping off. At least he wouldn't have to listen to any more death scenarios.

The two of them stayed like that for an hour or so, Derek's weight warming and comforting Stiles as he slept, a sleep full of awful, petrifying dreams of masked men and dead ghost women chasing him down endless dusty hallways, full of Derek's screams for help.

"Holy fucki -" Stiles woke with a jolt, panicking even more when he noticed Derek was missing. "This is not happening. Fuck, fuck, fuck." He ambled barefoot to the bathroom, throwing the door open – no slowly opening it with wide eyes (a sure way to be the first death in a movie) for Stiles, no siree.

"Derek! Get back here now!" Any light he could reach was turned on, the curtains pulled across to cover the endless black skies outside, sitting cross legged on the bed and rocking back and forth. "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..." His heart was racing, almost jumping out of his chest when he heard a quiet tapping on the window. "Oh holy fuck, no, no, no." The tapping was growing louder, faster, as if hundreds of fingers were patting the glass with their evil, yellow, blood stained nails.

Stiles couldn't take his wide eyed gaze off the window, shifting when he heard the tapping starting on the door too, a shaky yelp going out as the rusty handle started to shake, looking down and noticing that – of course – his phone was missing. Thankfully the door was still locked, he could see the little silver metal pushed all the way to the right.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I'm sorry for any sins I've committed..." He was whispering to himself as he watched the lock slowly turning from the outside – probably achieved by a contraption attached to his killers hook – getting closer and closer to the right until it clicked into place. The tapping stopped all at once, the only sounds that could be heart were Stiles heavy breathing and his pounding heartbeat.

"_Holy fucking shit!_"Stiles screamed louder than he had ever screamed before as a black clad, knife wielding figure burst through the door, headed straight for him. It was as if his body had lost all it's functions except his voice as he continued to scream with his head thrown back, wanting to put his arms out to protect him but finding himself unable to move.

"You're such a pussy!" Through his own screams he heard a voice, screams turning to rasping breaths as he slowly opened his eyes, seeing that the hood had been thrown back to reveal the raucously laughing face of Jackson.

"Are you _kidding _me?!" Stiles jumped up from the bed, his fists pummelling Jackson's chest uselessly. With heaving breaths he raised his head, noticing four other figures in the doorway, all bent double with laughter. "I'm going to fucking kill you all."

"Not if the motel killer gets you first!" Jackson put his hood up and did a shuffle towards Stiles, an 'ooo' coming from the shadow where his face should have been.

"Come on, we're watching TV – ours works." Scott could hardly get the words out through his laughter, reaching out a hand for a very pale and sweaty looking Stiles.

"That wasn't funny." Stiles said, making sure Derek locked the door so no killers would be waiting under the bed, a hard task through his shakes of laughter. "Oh, it was just hilarious, wasn't it? So funny."

"Kind of was." Derek grinned, putting an arm around his waist and following the others two doors down to Scott and Allison's room. Clothes were strewn across the floor, an assortment of vending machine snacks laid by the blaring TV, and the quilt was on the ground as a makeshift blanket.

"I think I'm having a heart attack," Stiles gave Scott a particularly hard punch to his arm, putting his finger up when his best friend prepared to give as good as he got, "you deserve it! You all know how scared I was." He was – grudgingly – smiling by this point, finally seeing just the tiniest grain of humour in the situation, stuffing a few M&M's into his mouth as they all laid out in front of the TV to watch a particularly blurry old Western.

"Oh my god, you're face when we opened the door." Jackson bit his lip to try a prevent his snort of laughter, a ploy that didn't work – he found the whole thing too funny.

"Yeah okay, okay! Let's just never mention this again. What happens in the motel, stays in the motel." Stiles' wide eyes tried to hypnotise everyone into agreeing with him.

"Hell no, I'm gonna tell everyone who'll listen about what a little girl you were." Jackson still couldn't stop laughing, putting his hood up again and making a few more ghostly noises. Everyone joined in with the teasing, even Stiles laughing along genuinely, all of them stuffing their faces with the probably out of date chocolate, sipping cans of coke and telling any ghost stories they could think of as they hung out in front of the TV in that dusty old motel, enjoying themselves long into the night.


	24. Grand Canyon

Stiles woke from his sleep clutching Derek like he never had before. If the man wasn't a wolf he'd be in pain, Stiles' nails were digging into the flesh of his back like sharp knives. He'd had another nightmare about the motels good old hook fisted killer, waking up at three in the morning sure that he would see the horrible face of his killer at the end of the bed. Derek had, thankfully, talked him back to sleep – it was hard to resist such a hard, warm body and such a surprisingly soothing voice.

"Do they have room service in this place?" Stiles moaned, nuzzling his face further into Derek's chest, wrapping his arms around him a little tighter.

"I have other ideas about how to give you some energy." Derek was running his fingers slowly down Stiles' back, almost reaching his ass before he went back to the top, squirming his body down so he and Stiles were face to face, lips clashing.

"Oh my god," Stiles found it all incredibly hot, but he couldn't help giggling.

"What?" Derek pulled away slightly, a smile on his face.

"You have the worst morning breath right now." His chest was heaving as his giggles escalated into full blown laughter, leaning on his back so he could get some air into his lungs, finding the whole thing even funnier when he opened his eyes to see Derek with a slight grin on his face, surreptitiously breathing into his hand and smelling it.

"Shut up. You're loss." He shrugged, a grin on his face, jumping out of bed and padding towards the bathroom naked – even he had to admit it was pretty bad, what did he eat last night?! Any sort of morning desire they would have engaged in had to be put on hold, Stiles just found it too funny, still shaking his head and giggling as he stood under the hot spray of the shower. Getting ready was a quick process – Stiles didn't want to stay here any longer than they absolutely had to – he rushed Derek, shoving clothes into his arms (the usual black t shirt and jeans), packing up his toothbrush and shower stuff for him, zipping up the case and practically shoving him out onto the walk way, the rather humid Arizona morning making them both feel a little sweaty.

"Ah! I need air conditioning!" Stiles groaned, leaning back on the fence outside Jackson and Lydia's room – they were still waiting for the two perfectionists (at least with their appearance) to finish getting ready. Before he even knew what was happening Derek was pressed against him, his hands grabbing the sides of his face, lips pressing roughly into his own. "This isn't cooling me down." Stiles grinned, feeling a drop of sweat on his forehead.

"Good." Derek replied, a lopsided smile on his face.

"Where have they gone?" Stiles mumbled as he kissed at Derek's neck, realising the multitude of lusty little red love bites Stiles had covered his neck with had vanished.

"I heal quicker. Gimmie some more." Stiles was more than happy to oblige Derek's request, nibbling at his neck, sucking and kissing the skin until a little red patch was left behind. Stiles knew his own neck was still marred with several love bites, but he wasn't complaining as Derek gave him another.

"Oh jeez – you two need to cut it out!" Jackson grumbled as he emerged from his room with a suitcase in either hand, Lydia hot on his heels, applying another coat of lip gloss.

"We've got six hours ahead of us yet – better calm down." Lydia coughed slightly, noticing the slight bulge in Derek's pants as he grudgingly got off Stiles. The two of them just grinned at each other, heading for the car.

* * *

The journey was one of the longest they had done on the trip, made worse for everyone because there was nothing to see and because no one could sleep. Endless hours of desert – and deserted – roads flew by on either side of the van, which only stopped off twice – once in Prescott, for breakfast, and once at an unremarkable gas station in Williams to refill the tank and let everyone use the toilet. They were starting to wish they hadn't bothered with the Grand Canyon, but by the time they stopped off at the Village and began their actual journey on the shuttle they all knew they didn't make a mistake by visiting.

"The biggest canyon in the world..." Stiles said quietly, stood beside Derek at Mather Point amongst a flock of other tourists, gazing out at the orange and red rock, almost desolate of plant life, the sun casting strange and wonderful shadows in the grooves of the rock face.

"Third largest, actually." Lydia said happily, not nearly as awestruck as Stiles was, snapping a few pictures on her phone. Scott and Allison were off in the distance, two smaller figures on a lower plane of rock, trying to find somewhere they could have some privacy – Scott's idea – but struggling with so many tourists in the area.

"If I fall, would you catch me?" Stiles joked, teetering dangerously close to the edge, a yelp going out as he actually did slip slightly, glad that Derek's hand was ready for him to steady himself on. "Guess that answers my question." He gave the Derek's stubbled cheek a peck, liking how it tickled his face, musing about how strange it was that he could like that, but still find people like Lydia and Clara – the girl from the beach in Santa Monica – with their smooth skin so attractive.

"I don't wanna lose your body." Derek joked, his heart racing slightly. He knew he liked Stiles – really liked him, not just his body, though lets be honest that was a pretty major factor – if he'd fallen he probably would have jumped after him. But of course, he'd never tell anyone that, it was just too cheesy and so not him.

"It would be romantic if I wasn't so freaking hot." Stiles took off his hoody, tying it around his waist, and pulled his baseball cap a little lower to keep the burning sun out of his eyes. Derek, as usual, was completely unperturbed by the heat, stood there looking very out of place in his leather jacket, jeans and aviators.

"It's still romantic I guess." Derek shrugged, suppressing a bad joke about how Stiles looked hot because he was _so _hot – the best part about Stiles, Derek thought, was that he was completely unaware of how attractive he was, how the slight blush under his cheekbones made him look so young and sweet, how the half open lips were turning Derek on at the thought of what he wanted to do to them, how the sharp point of his hipbone that was peeping out of his ridden up t shirt was making Derek hard just imagining trailing his fingers across and further down.

"We both know you're not into romance." Stiles sighed, wondering if Derek would ever do something like a candle lit dinner for him. It was cheesy, but he was a romantic and he wasn't afraid to admit it. Derek on the other hand... "You know – we still haven't really, uh, you know, said what we are..." Stiles couldn't help himself from bringing up the issue that had plagued them all the way through Los Angeles – he knew he shouldn't, but it was like he had word vomit, he simply couldn't stop himself.

"Everything's going so good, Stiles." Derek gave his hand a quick squeeze, the recipient of that lovely, reassuring gesture sighing as the hand withdrew – too many people around for Derek. He was comfortable doing almost anything in front of the rest of their group, he couldn't care less what they thought, there was just something about being public that made him uneasy, made it too real. Their group was insular, like its own private little world where he could do whatever he wanted with Stiles and not have to suffer any consequences, any commitments, any repercussions, but the real world was a little different.

"I guess, but I'd still like something." It was a bad idea to push the subject – he _knew _it was, yet he still kept at it, wanting Derek to just make a decision.

"Let's just stay how we are, everything's perfect." Derek threw him a weak smile before he ambled off down the trail, following a very awkward looking Jackson, who had been listening to the conversation with his heightened hearing.

Some part of Stiles wished Derek would just break up with him – was that even possible if they were never official? Or would just make an effort. He wanted to be able to call the irresistible man his boyfriend, wanted to hold hands without having to bribe him, wanting everything that came with being a couple. The sex, the kissing, the hand holding, it was all amazing, but a part of him felt it could all be even better if they were a real couple while doing it. Then again, there was no way he was willing to give up all the perks he was enjoying – _especially _Derek's body.

With a resigned sigh he followed a happy, amiable Lydia, who chatted about the ancient rock formations, how the canyon was all formed by one river, and how the floor at the bottom was billions of years old. He wasn't giving up – he'd keep asking if he had too, or maybe he could do something more, something that would really get Derek to open up. Plans were already taking shape in his mind as they headed for Yaki Point.


	25. Sam's Pleasure Arena

"That was fun." Allison beamed as she hopped into the passenger seat next to the driver, Scott. The two of them had enjoyed the magical sunset at Yaki Point, though she had been a little put off when she looked over and noticed all the couples paired up, all enjoying the beautiful moment sans Derek and Stiles, who _were _sat together, but it was obvious they weren't _together. _They had been slightly apart, not even holding hands, barely even talking. Allison had a sneaking suspicion Stiles had tried to define – and rightly so, she thought – the two of them; clearly he'd failed.

"Yeah, amazing." Stiles mumbled as he hopped into the back row, turning his head away from Derek – he couldn't look at the guy right now.

"Where too?" Scott beamed, oblivious as usual, starting up the engine as Jackson loaded their backpacks into the trunk with a lot of huffing and puffing.

"Just drive." Derek grunted, his arm sailing through the air in a vague gesture. He felt bad about how he was treating Stiles, well – not _bad_, per say – just a little off. In his eyes he was being pretty damn accepting and affectionate, even now his hands were tracing lazy patterns in Stiles' very tense palm, just because he wasn't ready to fully commit himself it didn't make him a bad person, did it?

"_I'll just keep it to myself... in the sun, in the sun._" Allison's sweet voice was making Stiles nauseous as the car trudged along the bumpy, desert road, headed back towards the interstate. Even Scott was bobbing his head along to the _She & Him _song, while Jackson and Lydia had their heads together, whispering what he assumed were some loving, romantic comments. He hated feeling dejected – absolutely hated it – especially when he hadn't actually done anything wrong, all he'd done was ask the man he was fucking (his thoughts were formulating in very crude ways to try and yank him from the romantic crisis) if they could be more than just some vague, undefined thing. The entire thing made him feel sick to his stomach, made his head spin.

"Smile. Someone could be falling in love with you." Derek craned his head to try and get Stiles to look him in the eye, mentally wincing at how his comment, which was meant to be a funny mocking of Lydia to lighten the mood, could have came across.

"Doesn't seem like that's gonna happen any time soon." Grunted Stiles, giggling slightly at how Derek-esque he felt by saying things in that terse, snapping tone.

"That's better." An arm snaked around Stiles' shoulders as Derek sighed, glad to see Stiles smiling, feeling his stomach lurch as he realised how much better he felt himself when he knew Stiles was okay.

Stiles wanted to wriggle away, wanted to teach Derek a lesson for ruining what could have been a beautiful, romantic, classic Stiles fantasy moment at the Grand Canyon in the sunset, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "You're such an ass." Close cropped hair tickled Derek's neck as Stiles' head settled down on his shoulder, one hand resting on his thigh, the other worming around Derek's back, his fingers gripping the waist tightly – he never wanted to let go.

* * *

The drive – with Allison basically in charge, Scott would never mess with her – turned out to be surprisingly fun. Allison had control of the music, putting on a lot of happy, cheery songs, especially ones that made them all burst out laughing as they remembered their childhood – think _TLC _and _All Saints_. They all joined in with the license plate game, Stiles winning with seventeen states under his belt, while Jackson lost - to much mocking from the rest of the group - spotting a mere five. Their dinner came in the form of six boxes of KFC from a gas station, everyone gnawing hungrily at their boneless chicken, shoving little bites of popcorn chicken into their mouths, slurping down giant cups of coke or lemonade. Heads lulled onto seats as everyone dropped off, Stiles still protected in Derek's arms with a blanket thrown over their legs, Jackson's head rising and falling from it's position on Lydia's chest, Allion's face pressed against the glass, light snores making Scott giggle as he drove them across Arizona.

The following day was all driving, punctured only by stops for food and toilet breaks, everyone getting bored as they crossed the endless desert roads. Stiles and Derek hardly moved from their position in each others arms, letting the other four teens drive, reading magazines together, playing games on Stiles' phone, and just talking. This is what Stiles wanted all the time – it felt like a real relationship, but he knew as soon as they got out of the car he'd be engaged in another uphill battle to try and get Derek to be real with him – it wasn't so important, he supposed, but to him it meant the world. By the time night fell they were just a few hours away from Albuquerque, the quickly overheating car trudging down back roads, hitting series of small towns every few hundred miles.

"What's that?!" Stiles shouted, his eyes glued to a huge set of lights in the distance, casting a kaleidoscope of colour onto the clouds of the night sky above. Scott pulled the car off the small, well travelled road they were racing down and onto a dirt road, coating a young couple in dust as he skidded to a halt in an overflowing makeshift parking lot.

"It's a god damn funfair!" Jackson whooped, leaning over the seat to beam at Stiles, who he knew would be most excited about it, attempting to give him a friendly slap on the shoulder but only succeeding in whacking Derek's chest – the two were still wrapped in each others arms.

"Watch it." Derek gave Jackson an evil-eye, grunting as Stiles struggled to disentangle himself, finding he was being pulled back to the comfort of Derek's body over and over, the man was relaxed; he didn't want to let Stiles go.

"Get off!" Stiles giggled, gazing in wonder at the bright lights outside, his heart racing as he heard the screams of happy thrill seekers. "I'm gonna go round and round on every ride in this place till I throw up."

"What is it with you and vomit?" Derek snorted, unbuckling his belt and giving Jackson's chair a rough shake, "Hurry up so we can get out." He needed to get out of the van so he could clear his lust filled mind, only his last shred of sanity was stopping him taking Stiles there and then in the back seat.

"This is perfect." Worries and troubles were buried under pure, child like happiness as Stiles stood in front of a huge arch emblazoned with 'Sam's Pleasure Arena' in flashing yellow letters. Even the fact that several letters were wonky, and the added bonus of two of them not even lighting up any more couldn't take away from his euphoria.

"I hate rides." Derek grumbled.

"You _hate _rides?!" Hands that had suddenly found enormous strength pinched Derek's forearm as Stiles stopped him in his tracks, stood just under the arch, "Hate is a pretty strong word – and definitely _not _one that can be used to describe rides. Rides are awesome – they're fun, they're a childhood past time, they're just... great!" He didn't take his hand off Derek's arm as he threw a twenty to a bored looking cashier, a local girl trying to make a few bucks while the amusements were passing through town. She passed him two neon green bands which he quickly tied around himself and Derek's wrists before he dragged the werewolf further into the park, hand still firmly on his arm, like a naughty child.

"We're going straight for the Ferris Wheel." Allison said with an excited squeak, her eyes trying to take in all the colour, the noise, the people.

"I want to go somewhere scary – there!" Lydia pointed to a very not-scary looking 'House of Terror' with glee in her eyes, the smell of cotton candy in the air taking her back to her childhood.

"Go ahead, I'm gonna force Derek to have some fun for a change." Everyone grinned back at Stiles as he spoke, loosening his grip on his arm just slightly, moving down to his wrist – it was the closest he thought he could get to holding hands. "Come on, sour wolf, time to have some fun."

"Are you delusional?" Derek groaned as Stiles dragged him through the busy lanes between rides, his brow furrowed as he watched teens necking on the Ferris Wheel, kids screaming with joy on the bumper cars, adults chewing on enormous balls of pink cotton candy.

"First stop." The same cotton candy Derek had been eyeing with distaste was soon shoved into his hands. "Now this pink ball of fluffy deliciousness will convert even the most unwilling." A huge grin spread across Stiles' face as he bit into the soft ball in his hands, angling the stick so he could get as much of it as possible in his mouth.

"I'm going to die." With a melodramatic groan, combined with much urging from an almost unintelligible Stiles (his mouth was constantly full as he spoke), Derek took a tiny bite, a little shocked when it quickly hardened on his tongue, tiny amounts of left over spit turning bits of the pink fluff into hard, sugary goodness.

"Good, right?!" Derek had to admit the thing was pretty good, he took another bite, his eyes continually distracted by Stiles.

"Stop eating it like... _that_!" Stiles simply cocked his head to the side, feigning ignorance. He was eating the thing slowly, continually looking at Derek as they walked aimlessly along the dirt path, unfurling strips of cotton candy and working them slowly into his mouth, licking his fingers luxuriously to get any left over residue he could, grinning as his tongue crept out to remove the sticky pink substance on his bottom lip.

"Like what?"

"You know _like what_." Derek's breath was coming a little faster than it usually did, his chest rising and falling, mouth agape as he watched Stiles lick the inside of his mouth, tongue raising the flesh of his cheeks as he did, in the most provocative way he could think of.

"I might have to take you behind one of these rides." Derek grunted, his fist clenched around the wooden stick that held the cotton candy so tight he thought it might break.

"Uh-uh. You're not getting out of this. Later though." A wink and a huge grin assaulted Derek's eyes as Stiles threw away his bare stick and dragged Derek along to his next destination.

"No, no, no, no. No, no. No." The bumper cars full of screaming children quickly vanished from Derek's view as he turned away, a huge groan leaving his lips as a grinning Stiles dragged him back by his collar.

"They're fun!" The teen beamed as he yanked a protesting Derek to the ride, but Stiles was having none of it. Soon a happy Stiles and a grumpy Derek were in their own cars. "I'm gonna kill you. Vroom vroom!" Stiles couldn't stop laughing as the light turned green and sparks flew from the ceiling as tens of little cars started racing around the arena, nearly all of them full of group of friends whose only purpose was to bash each other.

"What the -" Derek craned his neck to find who had basically gave him whiplash with a very well placed hit, seeing Stiles in a green cart behind him, tongue clenched between his teeth as he spun the cart round to escape before Derek could catch him. He made a little boy cry, a stocky teenager glare at him, and the stocky teenagers girlfriend grin as he chased Stiles – who was an excellent driver – through the mess of carts, finally catching up to him at the wall, grinning with satisfaction as his hit sent the younger boy flying to the left, bruising his ribs against the side of the cart.

"That's it!" Stiles was in pain, but he didn't care. He was having the time of his life as he repeatedly bashed Derek's cart all the way across the arena till it was pinned against the opposite wall, adding to his own injuries when he reversed and quickly accelerated, hoping for a perfect smash into Derek – who by this point thought his neck might snap – but instead hitting the wall as the troublesome wolf backed away, coming round for another hit while Stiles' cart was vulnerable.

"You got me with that one. It really was fun." Derek grinned, a little shaky on his legs, holding Stiles' shoulders for support as they crossed the floor, the clanging sound of their feet against the metal giving Stiles nostalgia for when he went to the local funfair back in Beacon Hills.

"Told you, didn't I?" Stiles was elated, a little flushed, and, to Derek, undeniably sexy. Despite all his protests he found himself lacing his fingers through Stiles', matching Stiles' grin as he looked at him in shock. "Look whose cheered up." Despite biting his lip, Stiles couldn't stop grinning, joining the congregation of people who were crowding the two steps up to the waltzers.

"Stiles! Derek!" They were so wrapped up in each other – eyes locked, no tongue, unfortunately – that they almost didn't notice Allison shouting to them. They both grinned at her, crossing through the sea of bodies to join her, Scott, Jackson, and Lydia.

"We were looking for you." Scott gave Stiles a friendly shove as he joined him, looking away awkwardly when he noticed the two of them were holding hands.

"Jackson has insisted we go on this... thing." Lydia shot a look of distaste at the eleven spinning carts. She gave an evil glare almost as well as Derek did. "Can't we go on the Ferris Wheel? Please?!" The 'please' was long and drawn out, but Jackson was having none of it. She protested all the way to the cart – number four – till he eventually placated her with an offer of two goes around the wheel if she went on the waltzers now.

"Prepare to have fun." Stiles grinned, his fingers still entwined with Derek's as they gripped the low slung metal bar that covered their knees. Jackson, who hadn't held on, trying to prove something, was almost thrown out of the cart as _Rave Me _by _ATB _grew louder and they began to spin**.**

"Come on girls!" A leering attendant shouted as he stood by the side of the cart, his eyes instantly drawn to the swell of Lydia's breasts. She made no move to adjust her top so he got less of an eyeful, just giving him a sweet smile before her head was thrown back onto the leather and she let her mouth fall open, a huge scream joining the multitude of others in the air.

"Holy – shit!" Derek felt like he was in a space training programme, their attendant – who had a special love for pretty girls, he never span boys who were alone – was hardly giving them a seconds respite, his spinning motions, combined with the carts natural spin, making the cart fly in circles as they lunged up and down on the uneven ground, the blasting dance music making the whole thing even better. Stiles was laughing wildly, his head slamming into the seat, his body flying into Derek's with Allison pressed into him on the other side, hands gripping the metal bar so tight his knuckles were turning white.

"Spin us faster!" Jackson yelled, baring his teeth against the g force as the song reached its peak and the controller picked up the speed, screams leaving six mouths unashamedly as they were flung around and around. Feeling brave, Stiles took his hands off the bar, dragging Derek's with him, and threw them up in the air, whooping and screaming as they let their inhibitions go through the best part of the ride, most everyone who was riding throwing their hands up and screaming until the ride finally slowed.

"That was awesome!" Allison screamed, a huge smile just visible through the mess that had been made of her hair.

"Derek looks like he's gonna throw up." Jackson tried to give him a playful shove as he laughed at Derek's pale face and heavy breaths, his shaky legs sending him flying into an oncoming passenger instead.

"Never again." Derek gulped, smiling through heavy breaths. He hated being out of control, but he had to admit it was quite exhilarating.

"I dare you to go on that." Stiles pointed to the biggest ride in the place, _Total Speed_, unable to stop himself from snorting as Derek took in the forty metre arm connected to the ground by a huge pillar in the middle, his face getting a little paler. Stiles knew he was pushing him, but he was just having too much fun to stop himself from making Derek try all the rides.

"Baby boy isn't ready for that." Scott grinned, ignoring the middle finger that Derek put up. "Thanks." He took some nachos from Allison's hand, who had, along with Jackson, brought some over for all of them.

"I think I'll throw up if I eat." Derek said with a bark of laughter. He was determined to prove Scott wrong – he could go on a ride if he wanted to.

"Let's go win a prize first." He soon found himself dragged across the dirt to a hoopla stall, Lydia and Stiles grinning on either side of him as the others sat down on a hay bale back near the food stall and devoured their nachos. "Win me the biggest thing here, okay?"

"No problem." A smirk crossed his face as he paid the dollar and was given a faded red ring.

"You know it's a scam, right?" Lydia whispered as she dipped a nacho into the spattering of guacamole.

"You know he's a wolf – right?" Stiles said with his eyebrows raised. He had never been able to win the game in his entire life, despite how easily the attendant could do it. Derek hardly needed to psyche himself up at all, letting his eyes flash red for a fraction of a second as he worked out the angle, lazily throwing the red hoop over the square block, a pang of stupid pride going up inside him as he heard Lydia and Stiles' – particularly Stiles' – cheers.

"You gotta be kidding me?" The attendant groaned, wondering how two kids had won this game tonight. Angry daggers left his eyes as he noticed Allison sat in the distance, the enormous white bear Scott had won for her earlier – albeit after five attempts – sat at her feet. Stiles was beaming as he walked back to them, an enormous – and appropriate – grey wolf teddy under his arm.

"You two are being sickeningly sweet." Scott laughed as he took the two of them in, hands clasped together, beaming at each other. "I dunno why – ow!" He was about to ask why they weren't an official couple, but a sharp kick from Allison, who had enough tact to know that this wasn't the right time, had stopped him in his tracks.

Stiles forced Derek onto almost every ride in the place, shoving him onto the zig-zag, where he laughed from start to finish as Derek struggled to stop crushing Stiles – they had picked the wrong sides. A sceptical expression never left Derek's face as they road the _House of Terror_, laughing as Stiles tried to join in with the skeletons and witches, as well as the black clad attendant who prowled the halls, to make Derek jump – it didn't work. He almost threw up as he was flung around on the _Gyro Frisbee_, clinging to his harness for dear life, screwing up his eyes to block out the very high drop, unable to resist smiling at Stiles' screams of joy. By the time a very pale, very shaky Derek was pulled out of his seat on _Total Speed_ he was ready to call it a night, the ride – the biggest in the place – had taken his last shred of courage.

"No, no, no, we still have to fulfil our cheesy Ferris Wheel moment." Stiles grinned, joining Scott and Allison in the queue. Jackson and Lydia were trying to win a prize on the hoopla, but his wolf powers were somewhat lacking, eventually resorting to the hook-a-duck to win Lydia a tiny little dog teddy. She headed back to the bane of Jackson's life, spending a mere three dollars before her mathematical genius mind had worked out the angle and secured a massive lion. With a satisfied smirk she put it in Jackson's arms, giving him a pat on the head for good measure.

"See ya." Scott and Allison waved goodbye with huge grins on their faces as they were taken up to the second rung, Stiles and Derek shuffling into the cart beneath them.

"Did you have fun?" Stiles asked, relaxing back onto the cool metal, resting his head on Derek's shoulder as they began their ascent.

"Surprisingly I did." Derek smiled, softly running his fingers through Stiles hair, feeling the bristles against his skin. "I don't like not being in control but it's fun to let go, I guess."

"Of course it is." Stiles felt sleepy, but he kept his eyes open so he could watch the funfair spreading out beneath them, a pillar of light in the middle of the black desert, twinkling specks of white on the horizon to the east and to the north signalling nearby towns. "If it wasn't fun to let go we wouldn't be having sex every night." A giggle left his lips, pushing any thoughts of bringing up his and Derek's issues to the back of his mind – he was doing that a lot lately. The night was just too perfect to spoil.

"Ready for your cheesy moment?" Derek's fingers hooked Stiles' jaw, lifting his head so he could look into those beautiful brown eyes.

"When am I not?" Stiles said quietly, letting his lips meld with Derek's as they stopped at the very top of the wheel. Derek's lips were soft, his tongue lazy, his hands stroking Stiles' back over his shirt with agonising leisure. Their kiss kept on and on, the two of them reveling in how nice it felt to kiss without rushing, without knowing sex was right ahead of them. Despite how many times they had locked lips Stiles thought this one might have been their best yet – lust still perpetuated them both, but they knew what a wonderful moment it was, and basked in the cheesy sweetness of it all.


	26. Wheat Field Lovin'

All Stiles could think about were roads. Endless, endless roads. He didn't know how long they had been driving, it didn't matter – everything looked the same. It was irritating seeing the same (or what looked like) stretch of road over and over again, everywhere they went. No matter if it was Derek driving, Scott driving, Stiles driving, it was all _the same_. No one could seem to work out exactly where they were or exactly where they were going. They had specific destinations in mind, but they were miles and miles from any major cities they wanted to visit, driving almost aimlessly through the barren New Mexico landscape.

"I'm so bored." Stiles mumbled, almost to himself, getting a jab in the ribs from Derek – the driver – for his trouble.

"Am I boring you?"

"Huh?"

"I was telling you about the modifications I made to my Camaro, ass." The older man shook his head, grumbling about how his story _had _been interesting.

"My jeeps better." Stiles replied with a shrug, his hands grazing against the roof of the van as he stretched, a long, drawn out moan coming forth. "Can't we stop and stretch our legs?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lydia's mouth was opening and closing excitedly from her position in the seat behind Stiles, dying to walk off her cramp.

"Yeah, Derek. Pull over." Jackson shouted, looking up from the sports magazine he was reading with Scott in the furthest row back.

"Oh, please stop!" Allison chirped in, the raised voices of the five teens driving Derek crazy.

"_Fine_!" He finally barked when he could take it no longer. There was an infinity of places for him to pull over, the road they were on, which went on as far as the eye could see in a perfect straight line over the horizon, was practically empty – something Stiles found quite surprising seeing as it was only noon.

"Jesus, I really need a proper bed to sleep in." Stiles said, stretching as he hopped out of the dust-coated van, the bones in his back clicking, almost moaning themselves from the two nights of sleeping upright in the uncomfortable vans seats.

"We could camp, but we won't get as far." Jackson suggested, taking off his shirt and ambling along the tiny dirt road they had pulled over on.

"I say we camp. Here." The sharp heels of Lydia's very expensive shoes dug into the grass she was stood on, hands on hips.

"Sure. We're going for a walk." Scott tried unsuccessfully to take Allison's hand, who was _still _a little annoyed from Los Angeles, his face falling, walking a step behind her like an obedient dog.

"I don't get her. She was happy with Scott last night." Derek said to Stiles, referring to how enthusiastic she had been at the funfair.

"Me neither." Stiles shrugged, "Let's go this way." His legs were soon working their way up the small white fence that surrounded the tall wheat fields beside them, yelping as his foot connected with a hidden rock on the other side.

"Wimp." Derek said with a grin, flinching for just a second when Stiles' fist connected with his arm.

"We better not get lost." Wheat was being pushed aside to make a path as Stiles ambled along with Derek beside him, hoping a farmer wouldn't come out and shoot him.

"Hold on," Derek dragged Stiles back by the collar of his plaid shirt, sitting him down as he began climbing up a thin metal pole. "The house is miles away." Only with his wolf eyes could Derek make out the white farmhouse in the distance, the open garage revealing no cars were there – the owners were probably out.

"Catch me if you can." Stiles grinned, feeling much better now they were out in the sun. It was an oppressively hot day, but being in the middle of nowhere made it easier to deal with, no city heat stifling them, just the clear blue skies and masses of yellow wheat. He could hear Derek behind him, laughing as he chased him along, Stiles darting left and right to try and lose him, ending up not just losing Derek, but losing himself.

"Stiles?!" As he heard Derek's voice, a pang of worry shot through Stiles' stomach at how faint and distant it was.

"Help!" He couldn't not giggle as he realised he had gotten himself lost in a field of identical yellow strands. He was the proverbial needle in a haystack. Memories of the motel began flashing back to him; a scarecrow killer would probably be on the lookout for him right now, ready to jab its hook through Stiles' guts.

The rustling seemed to be all around him, and without even realising it he started to run. It wasn't a petrified run, he actually couldn't keep the smile off his face as he hopped along, arms outstretched to push away the wheat, wondering how long it would take Derek to catch him.

"Shit!" His feet were too slow to react, too slow to pull up as he tumbled straight into a grinning Derek's arms, who had doubled back to throw Stiles off before quickly darting through the field, ready and waiting for a very loud – to Derek, with his wolf senses, anyone else would have been stumped – Stiles, who was making so much noise he was pretty sure Scott and Jackson would be able to hear too.

"Gotcha!" Stiles threw his head back, barks of laughter mingling with his panting breaths, his cheeks slightly flushed, the open plaid shirt hanging off one shoulder. "Lets get you out of this." Derek grinned, pulling the fabric off so he was in just a white t shirt, his hands roving around Stiles' waist.

"How about this too?" They were both grinning at each other as Stiles removed his shirt, throwing it onto the ground beside him. He looked up at Derek softly, lulling the man into a false sense of security before he started tickling his ribs, both of them tumbling to the ground as their fingers attacked each other, grabbing under their arms, their ribs, between their thighs, unable to keep the smiles off their faces. Wheat and grass were stuck in Derek's hair when he finally managed to spin Stiles around so the teen was no longer the one on top, spreading his denim clad legs on either side of Stiles, strong hands pinning him to the ground.

"I win." Derek laughed, taking his shirt off so he could feel Stiles' skin against his own as he pressed his chest down, lips meeting for a long, deep kiss. A yelp escaped him as Stiles flipped them round so he was on top, unbuckling Derek's belt with clumsy fingers, unable to see what he was doing through his closed eyes, mouth against Derek's once more.

He didn't care that they were in the middle of a field, that the farmer or Scott or anyone could push the wheat apart at any moment and catch them. He hadn't had sex with Derek in two days and it was driving him insane. Hey, he was a teenager after all – always horny, always wanting, always ready.

"I've been horny as hell since the funfair." Stiles' voice was just a whisper, speaking through his wet kisses, biting his lip as Derek's hands burrowed down the back of his jeans, grabbing his ass.

"Shut up." Derek panted, practically ripping Stiles' jeans apart, the silver button flying off and vanishing into the field, grunting in anger when the zipper got stuck, breaking that too as he yanked it apart instead.

"You went commando?" A burst of laughter came from Stiles as he dragged down Derek's jeans to discover no more layers to be contended with underneath.

"I said shut up." The side of Derek's mouth lifted up in a lopsided grin, grabbing onto Stiles' now bare ass firmly and turning him over, glad to be rid of the irritating strands of crushed wheat that had been scratching his back.

Before Stiles could even think about what could go wrong they had both kicked off their jeans and shoes, hastily removing their socks before they were back on top of each other and foil packet was clenched between Derek's fingers, dragged hurriedly from his jeans pocket before he shot them into the distance.

The fact that they were both bare ass naked in the middle of a New Mexico field was turning them on like they couldn't believe, feeling every inch of each others skin as their bodies writhed around on the flattened wheat. Derek had never taken himself for a naturist, but perhaps this was converting him.

Strong, steely thighs pushed Stiles' apart, Derek's hands grabbing his knees as he kissed his way down the younger boys body, growling with every wanton moan that came from above him, leaving a wet trail of kisses down Stiles' chest and stomach before he took his hard arousal into his mouth. One hand left Stiles' knee, tracing its way across the tensing thigh beneath it, finally reaching Stiles' balls, fondling each one with a strong, slow, self-assurance.

"Oh fucking hell, Derek." Stiles thighs couldn't stop, they clamped onto Derek's arms as the mans other hand, the one that wasn't driving Stiles crazy with the agonising slowness with which it was playing with his balls, started tracing circles around the tight ring of muscle, which felt like it was on fire, a non verbal begging for Derek to fill him up. Stiles did all the verbal begging that was needed, groaning as Derek licked his length, urging him to go faster and moaning with a mixture of pleasure and anger when Derek slowed down so Stiles wouldn't cum, driving Stiles so tantalisingly close to heaven before he pulled back.

If lust wasn't hazing his mind Stiles would have blushed at how slutty he felt as he pushed Derek's head down to take the full length of his dick, his eyes screwed up and teeth bared, moaning when he felt the stubble mixing with his own hair, felt his entire growth encased in a warm, wet prison, Derek's tongue doing incredible things to the head as he came back up.

Stiles had never needed to cum so much in his life, wondering if he would last as he looked down at Derek in anger as he saw him coming off his dick, locking his eyes with Stiles' for a second; green eyes full of lust. Those same eyes seemed to light up as his hands pushed the teenagers cheeks apart, Stiles lifting his neck to look down – a little curiously – taking a sharp intake of breath when he felt Derek's tongue on his hole.

"Oh my fuck – what the fu – shit." Derek had certainly never done _this _before, Stiles thought as he slammed his head against the ground, his hips involuntarily circling, moving his hand across to his dick.

"No." Derek slapped him away, his eyes deadly serious. Stiles was crying out Derek's name, biting his lip and trapping his hands beneath his head so he couldn't touch himself, trying desperately not to cum so he could keep the amazing feeling of Derek's tongue licking his hole, darting across the desperately sensitive circle over and over again until Stiles was a shaking mess, breath ragged, cheeks flushed, sweat coating his body like second skin.

Fingers replaced the tongue, nowhere close to how good that strong muscle felt, two fingers stretching him open, then a third, all preparing Stiles as Derek slipped the condom on and gave his own dick a few encouraging strokes – not that it needed it, the thing was as hard as steel – his body shivering with anticipation as he lined himself up. His chest got closer and closer to Stiles' as he went inside the inviting hole inch by inch, finally clashing lips with the ecstatic teen as he eased the last of himself inside, resting there for a minute to try and control himself. He felt like a horny teenager, felt like he would blow any minute, and he didn't want to. He wanted this to last.

"Please, Derek. Fuck -" Stiles felt Derek's teeth on his neck as he threw his head back, tensing every bit of muscle, bone, and cartilage, his protruding adams apple rising and falling as Stiles gulped, whimpering when Derek pulled almost all the way out of him before he slowly eased his way back in, kissing the bruised lips beneath him as he did.

"Oh, Stiles." The sound of Derek crying his name as he was thrusting into him was almost enough to send Stiles over the edge, he knew as soon as he touched his dick it would all be over, using every inch of willpower to keep his hands on Derek's muscular back instead.

"So – fucking – good." The words were intermittent, one every time Derek slammed into him, every time Derek filled him up so much that he thought he might burst, one every time Derek hit his prostate dead on and almost made him die with how good it felt.

It was agonising when Derek slowed down, desperately trying to prolong the experience, driving both of them crazy with anticipation, his orgasm looming as Stiles clenched his muscles around Derek's cock, his own wanting dick jumping every time he did.

"Go, Derek, fucking go." Stiles was dragging his body up across the mess of wheat beneath him and shoving himself back down, trying – _needing – _to go faster. He was about to explode with unbridled lust. Derek finally obliged, after a few more agonisingly slow rolls of his hips, speeding up until he was pounding into Stiles, spewing deep, guttural moans that mingled with Stiles' whimpers and groans, his nails digging deep into Derek's skin as he was impaled in the most beautiful way over and over again, never even thinking about who could hear as he screamed and yelled without any inhibition.

The hot, mid-morning sun had nothing to do with the wet sheen of sweat that was coating them both, their eyes locked together as they continued to ride the exquisite wave of pleasure, Derek's eyes widening to their limit, giving Stiles the signal. The crazed teenagers voice got higher and higher as he felt his orgasm coming on, never having been so glad to be able to touch himself. He and Derek came at the exact same moment, long, low moans rising and falling, eyes rolling into the back of their heads as the condom was filled and their chests were coated with a sticky, white mess.

Stiles thought he was going to black out as he kept on pumping his dick, the longest orgasm of his life finally coming to a halt, a furiously panting Derek laying his head on Stiles' chest, his cock still buried inside, too spent to move. Another moan left his lips as Derek finally gathered the energy to pull out of him, rolling onto the ground beside his lover and pulling him close, entwining their naked bodies as they laid there with heavy, panting breaths. If they had enough energy to grin, they would have been the biggest grins in history.


End file.
